


Whatever it takes

by Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen



Series: Whatever it takes [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Fix-It, Future Fic, Past Character Death, Post-Canon, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-01-07 11:19:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18409571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen/pseuds/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen
Summary: Following the final battle for Star City in 2040, Roy, Rene, and Mia decide to bring the Lance and Queen families, plus Roy Harper, from 2013 to the future to prevent their present from becoming a reality.





	1. The plan

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is something that’s just been knowing at me for the past several days and it’s something I decided to do just for my own sanity. It’s a viewing fic, but tis different than what I’ve done up to now. The formatting is similar to what I’ve done in my Teen Wolf story (For an idea on what I’ talking about, just skip through chapter three of Scott’s story). And I’m only going to be doing the last two episodes of season five. 
> 
> Also just to be upfront, I’m going to be taking a lot of creative liberties with Mia. The first being she is not Felicity’s daughter. Who her mother is will be revealed later on.

Star City, 2040

Afternoon

 

Roy Harper stood in what was once the headquarters of Eden Corps, looking around with despair. They’d finally done it, they’d finally won. They’d defeated Eden Core, but at too high a cost. William, Dinah, Zoe, Conner, Felicity, all gone. The only ones left were himself, Rene, and Mia. They all found this to be unacceptable. So it was time to do something about it. Something Felicity, with help from Ray Palmer, had been working on before she was captured by Eden Cops.

 

“We’re sure we wanna do this?” Rene asked as he and Mia walked up behind Roy. “I mean, the machine was damaged. The only thing left is the last two days against Chase. Everything else is just…fragments.”

 

“Maybe it’s all for nothing,” Roy admitted as he turned around to face Mia and Rene. “Maybe it’s not enough to change things. But don’t we owe it to everyone not in this room to try?”

 

“Okay. I’ll go set everything up,” Rene sighed as he walked off.

 

“Why are we not killing him?” Mia demanded once Rene was gone. “He’s the reason for all of this!”

 

“No, he’s not,” Roy sighed. “Eden Corps was planning to this long before Rene came along. Rene was just a pawn. And you don’t give up on someone just because they lose their way. Sometimes they just need someone to help them find it again.”

 

“Whoever told you that crap?” Mia scoffed.

 

“Your Aunt Thea,” Roy said and Mia paused. “You remind me of her sometimes.”

 

“I wish I could have known her,” Mia said and Roy smiled sadly.

 

“Maybe now, you will,” Roy said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Come on, let’s get ready for this.”

 

The two of them walked out and down the hall. They walked into a room, where Rene was fiddling with a machine.

 

“Okay, who should we pick?” Rene asked as he looked over at them.

 

“Definitely Laurel and Thea,” Roy said without thought. “Thea is the person Oliver cared about most before William, so if anyone would be able to reach him, it’s her. And having Laurel not gunning for Oliver after he comes back is a huge benefit.”

 

“Who else?” Mia asked and Roy was silent.

 

“Your grandmother,” Roy said and Mia was surprised. “Moira was flawed, but she loved both her children. Besides, I think Thea is gonna need her when certain things come out.”

 

“You mean Merlyn,” Rene said and Roy nodded.

 

“Thea is gonna want answers and they should come from Moira. We should also bring Captain Lance,” Roy said and Rene perked up. “Oliver respected few people more than Quentin Lance and he was in Oliver’s corner at this time.”

 

“What about Diggle and Felicity?” Rene said and Oliver shook his head.

 

“No. As much as I love them, they were part of the problem. When Oliver came back, his guilt over Tommy made him abandon the list. Something they basically encouraged,” Roy pointed out.

 

“And you think if they hadn’t, dad would have figured out about the Ninth Circle earlier?” Mia asked.

 

“It’s possible. But the main reason is that, once he stopped targeting people on the list, he stopped really being able to help people. He treated the symptoms of the disease while it festered until it was too late. As much as it hurts to say, if we’re gonna do this, it needs to be without them,” Roy said.

 

“Well then, we need to bring you, younger you to,” Rene said taking Roy back. “You always had Oliver’s back. If we’re not bringing Diggle and Felicity, we should bring you.”

 

“Okay. We’re all in agreement about who we’re bringing?” Roy asked and the pair nodded. “Okay, let’s do this.”

 

Starling City, 2013

Morning

 

Quentin Lance was walking the streets when suddenly; he vanished in a ball of light.

 

Laurel Lance was at her apartment, looking at a picture of herself, Oliver, and Tommy from before The Gambit when she vanished in a ball of light.

 

Thea Queen and Roy Harper were at Roy’s house, making out on his couch when they vanished as well.

 

Moira Queen was in her cell at Iron Heights, lying on her cot when she to vanished in a ball of light. 

 

Star City, 2040

 

The group of five landed on a floor in the middle of a room, disoriented and confused.

 

“Dad?” Laurel called out as she saw her father.

 

“Laurel, are you alright?” Quentin said concerned as he helped Moira to her feet.

 

“I think so,” Laurel said as she got up.

 

“Thea, are you alright?” Moira said in concern as she saw her daughter.

 

“Fine,” Thea said flatly and Moira looked disheartened but understanding by her daughter’s reaction.

 

“Why are we? How did we get here?” Roy wondered.

 

“We brought you here.”

 

Everyone turned and as shocked to see a second, older Roy Harper walk in with a blond woman around Thea’s age and a man with dark hair and a beard.

 

“Who are you? And why do you look like me?” Roy asked freaked out and the older Roy smirked in amusement.

 

“Because I am you, just twenty seven years of more life experience,” Roy said and they stared at him dumbfounded.

 

“That’s crazy,” Quentin said.

 

“You would have said the same thing once about dressing up in a green hood and putting arrows into people,” the older Roy pointed out. “But, if you need proof, Roy, in your jacket pocket, you have the arrow The Hood saved you with. But you redesigned it, made it red instead of green.”

 

Everyone turned to the younger Roy, Thea incredulously, Laurel angrily, and the others just curiously. With a sigh, Roy reached inside his pocket and pullet out the arrowhead.

 

“Now that that’s settled, you can call me Arsenal,” Arsenal said. “You’ve been brought almost thirty years into the future to save Starling City from becoming a wasteland in the future.”

 

At this, Rene pulled out a remote and pressed a button. Immediately, a holographic version of Star City appeared in the room and everyone stared in horror at the destruction of their once fair city.

 

“What happened?” Thea asked weakly.

 

“In short, The Hood failed in his mission,” Arsenal explained and noticed Laurel visibly tensed. “He lost sight of it. His failure to stop The Undertaking and the death of Tommy Merlyn convinced him the only way to save this city was to stop the killing and stop targeting corrupt elitists who used their money and influence to stop on those beneath them. By doing that, it allowed those in power to keep them, to grow stronger until he couldn’t stop them.”

 

“Why would The Hood care about Tommy?” Laurel hissed and the trio exchanged a glance.

 

“Over the years, The Hood has gone by many names, The Arrow, Green Arrow, but we knew him by another name. And so did you,” ignoring his confused audience, Arsenal turned to Mia. “Do it.”

 

She nodded, clinking something on her wrist mounted tablet. Immediately, the hologram of Star City was replaced by Oliver, in handcuffs, being led out by the FBI.

 

_“Mr. Queen, why are you being arrested?” A reporter asked._

_“I’ve voluntarily turned myself over to the FBI,” Oliver explained._

_“Can you comment further?” another reporter asked._

 

_“Yes I can. I am the Green Arrow,” Oliver told the reporters. “I realize I’ve denied that claim with the same conviction with which I’m speaking now. I have let good people stand accused of things I have done. Roy Harper is not the Green Arrow. Tommy Merlyn is most certainly not the Green Arrow. These are two names in a list of people who have given so much and sacrificed everything in the name of my crusade. Some of them even gave their lives in pursuit of one simple objective: to save our city.”_

Mia pressed a button and the hologram ended. They stood quietly, letting everyone absorb what they’d seen.

 

Laurel was completely floored at the revelation. Suddenly, so many things about Oliver made complete sense. His actions at Tommy’s funeral suddenly became clear in a new light. Ollie blamed himself as much as Laurel blamed The Hood. And suddenly, she was riddled with guilt, realizing she had been punishing Ollie for something he was no doubt punishing himself for much more than she ever could.

 

Thea was stunned but, like Laurel, found herself recalling past events in a new light. Whenever he’d out of nowhere run off or told her something she’d known was a lie…he was really saving someone’s life. Thea was also filled with guilt, remembering ow much of a bitch she’d been to him when he first came back.

 

Moira herself was not particularly surprised; having figured out Oliver was the vigilante after he’d confronted her about The Undertaking. Rather, she was more concerned that he’d ben exposed and arrested. She wondered what had forced Oliver to such lengths.

 

Quentin was in complete disbelief that he’d been right all along. Although now it was different. Before, he’d wanted to catch Oliver, now he just wanted to help him save their city.

 

Roy was simply glad he hadn’t pissed Oliver off enough to make him out an arrow in him. He was also glad he finally knew who The Hood was…and now could ask him to train him.

 

“Yeah, dad always gave great speeches,” Mia said and the time travelers all looked over at her. “From what I’ve heard and seen, anyway.”

 

“Dad?” Laurel repeated, her mind not comprehending what she was hearing.

 

“My name is Mia. It’s short for Moira,” Mia said, glancing over at her grandmother, who stared at her with her mouth agape. “I’m Oliver’s daughter.”

 

Hearing a thud, everyone glanced over to see the source. Apparently, Thea’s brain had gone on information overhead and she’d passed out.

 

“Nice Mia. Really,” Arsenal said sarcastically and she shrugged unapologetically.


	2. The party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time travelers learn shocking details about the future as they learn why they were brought to the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, blown away by the response to this story. Here is the next chapter.

Star City, 2040

Afternoon

 

Thea was vaguely aware of someone shaking her awake.  She opened her eyes and saw her boyfriend’s face hovering above her.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Roy asked concerned a he helped her sit up.

 

“Yeah, I just had this weird dream where you brought us to the future, Ollie was the vigilante, and I had a niece in the future,” Thea said and Roy looked awkward.

 

“About that…” Roy trailed off as he looked over his shoulder.

 

Thea followed his gaze and saw her mother in her prison uniform, Arsenal, and Mia among the others.

 

“Oh great, it wasn’t a dream,” Thea said weakly.

 

“Nope, afraid not Aunt Thea,” Mia said and Thea put a hand to her head.

 

“Could you please not call me that? This is weird enough,” Thea said freaked out.

 

“Here,” Rene walked over and gave her a flask. “Relax, it’s not alcohol. Its medicine, it calms you down.”

 

Wearily, Thea took it and took a drink. Immediately, she almost gagged.

 

“This tastes awful!” Thea complained once she swallowed.

 

“It’s meant to calm you, not taste good,” Arsenal pointed out.

 

“But it calmed you down, didn’t it?” Mia pointed out and Thea blinked, realizing she did feel oddly calm now.

 

Arsenal stared at the love of his life, lost in memories. It had been over twenty years since he’d seen her. Oliver had called him for help on a case, so he’d returned to Star City to help the team. Taking advantage of Roy’s absence, the Ninth Circle had attacked Nyssa and Thea. Nyssa had been injured but survived. The same, unfortunately, could not be said for Thea. 1

 

“So…your mother, who is she?” Moira asked as she looked over at Mia, breaking Arsenal out of his thoughts.

 

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you grandma,” Mia said with a smirk.

 

Quentin frowned as he looked at Mia. That smirk almost made her look like…nah, couldn’t be, Quentin told himself.

 

“Mia, why don’t you go get Moira some clothes? I think she would like to wear something other than a prison uniform,” Arsenal said as Moira smiled politely.

 

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” Moira said graciously.

 

“We insist,” Mia said, looping her arm through Moira’s and dragging her off, despite Moira’s protest.

 

“This is just so weird,” Laurel muttered.

 

“Hey, you haven’t seen the aliens yet,” Rene said and they all turned to him incredulously.

 

“Aliens?” Quentin said incredulously and Rene nodded.

 

“Who are you exactly?” Thea asked.

 

“Rene Ramirez. We haven’t met yet,” Rene paused. “If this works, maybe we never will.”

 

Mia led Moira into a room that was basically a large closet, which had lots and lots of clothes.

 

“Put on whatever you like, I’ll be waiting outside,” Mia said as she turned to leave.

 

“Mia,” Moira called out and her granddaughter paused. “Oliver…was he a good father?”

 

“From what everyone tells me, yes, but I wouldn’t know. He died not long after I was born,” Mia said gently and saw Moira pale. “Most of what I know of him is what I’ve been told and what I’ve been able to piece together from anti vigilante propaganda news articles.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Moira said, swallowing thickly.

 

“Me to. But that’s why you’re here, to make a better future. And maybe in this new future…I’ll get to know my father,” Mia said before she walked out, closing the door behind her.

 

Once Mia was gone, Moira put a hand to her mouth, her shoulders shaking with sobs as she grieved the loss of her son one more time.

 

Once she had collected herself, Moira changed out of the prison uniform into some blue jeans and a regular black shirt. She rejoined the others and saw some of the tension had faded. Mia was laughing at something Thea had said while Roy was talking to his future self. Quentin was talking to Rene as Laurel stood off to the side, watching it.

 

“Are you okay Laurel?” Moira asked as she walked over to her.

 

“Yeah, it’s just…so overwhelming. I spent the last few months hating him for Tommy…but I can’t. Not when I know how much he must blame himself,” Laurel said.

 

“I understand. If you must blame someone, blame me,” Moira said and Laurel looked at her startled. “I helped Malcolm. If it weren’t for me…Tommy would still be alive.”

 

“Malcolm would have found another way, he was a mad man. He threatened you, threatened your children, what happened wasn’t your fault,” Laurel said and Moira smiled sadly.

 

“Thank you Laurel. I wish everyone shared your opinion,” Moira said as she glanced towards Thea.

 

“Give her time. She’ll come around,” Laurel said.

 

“Okay, now that we’re all here, follow me,” Arsenal said, breaking up the conversations as he walked out of the room.

 

Mia and Rene followed him out of the room and, after exchanging uncertain glances, the time travelers followed as well. Arsenal led them into a room with several pieces of furniture. There was a couch next to a chair, a love seat, and a second couch, all close to each other.

 

“We’re here to show you the end of Oliver’s fifth year back,” Arsenal announced as he turned around to face them. “It’s to help you understand Oliver better. We wanted to show you more, but in the assault on our enemy a few days ago, the machine that stored all the memories your about to see was damaged. Everything else is fragmented. This is all we can show you. So sit down, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.”

 

Arsenal at down in the chair, waiting for everyone to be seated. After a few moments of awkward shuffling, everyone sat down. Quentin and Laurel sat on the first couch with Moira. Thea and Roy got the love seat next to Arsenal while a disgruntled Mia sat with Rene on the other couch. Arsenal nodded to Mia and she pressed a button on her wrist mounted tablet, causing a holographic scream to appear in front of them.

 

**At city hall, Oliver, Thea, and Quentin are watching a news report on Chase’s arrest. Quentin also brings up Oliver’s record high approval rating.**

“Wait, Ollie’s the mayor?” Thea exclaimed shocked.

 

“A lot can happen in four years,” Roy said simply.

 

“Including my dad being part of his administration,” Laurel said as she looked over at her stunned father.

 

“How’d that happen?” Quentin wondered.

 

“It’s complicated. But, if a man named Damien Darhk ever approaches you, never accept his help. Ever,” Arsenal told him.

 

“Or if you have to, tell Oliver about it,” Rene added and Arsenal nodded his agreement.

 

**Quentin goes to rip Rene a new one and Oliver tells Thea Rene missed a hearing about getting Zoe back.**

Rene got a wounded look on his face, his daughter’s death flashing through his mind. The look quelled any questions the time travelers may have had, deciding it was best not to pull on that particular thread.

 

**Before he leaves, Quentin wishes Oliver a Happy Birthday. Oliver and Thea reminisce about how things have changed in the last four years before Thea says they should go out and celebrate his birthday. However, Oliver informs her he has plans with Felicity.**

“Felicity, the girl who showed up at Walter’s hospital room?” Thea questioned.

 

“Felicity Smoak, she was helping Oliver during The Undertaking. She helped me stop one of the devices so the damage wasn’t so bad. If only we’d known there were to,” Quentin sighed regretfully.

 

“She was dad’s on and off girlfriend for the better part of four years,” Mia supplied. “They even ended up married for a little bit.”

 

“Really? She doesn’t seem his type,” Laurel noted surprised.

 

“Because she wasn’t,” Arsenal muttered. “They didn’t stay married for long. It was about a year before they filed for annulment, they realized the marriage wouldn’t work because, when it comes down to it, they really didn’t understand each other.”2

 

**That night, Oliver headed to the loft, dressed in a suit. However, he quickly noticed something wrong when he saw the lights were off. Cautiously, Oliver entered the room and a shadow sneaks up behind them. Oliver instinctively throws the shadow to the floor when the lights turn on. Oliver has just thrown Curtis to the floor as Thea, Diggle, and Felicity stare, a sheepish look on Oliver’s face.**

“Honestly, what were they thinking? A surprise party?” Mia asked incredulously and both Arsenal and Rene shrugged.

 

“Don’t look at me, I was…occupied,” Rene grimaced.

 

“I was on the run,” Arsenal pointed out.

“Wait, why were you on the run?” Roy asked confused.

 

“To make a long story short, Oliver got framed for murder, I took the fall, then faked my own death,” Arsenal said and Roy, along with Thea, Laurel, and Quentin, stared incredulously. “Yeah, try living it. It was much more unbelievable actually doing it.”

 

**Later, Oliver blows out the candles on a Green Arrow cake Felicity had apparently bought for a six year old, since she couldn’t order it for a grown man. Oliver apologizes for throwing Curtis to the ground and smirks when Curtis tries to act tough before admitting he still would’ve ended up on the floor no matter what. As Diggle and Oliver walk off, Curtis checks over Dinah’s new device, explaining what it is to Felicity.**

“Okay, so this Curtis guy is part of Oliver’s team. Who’s Dinah?” Quentin asked curiously, glancing over at Laurel. “Unless Laurel finally decided to go by her mother’s name.” 

 

“No. Dinah is-was-a friend of ours. Dinah Drake, she was a cop from Central City who went rogue following her partners’ murder. Oliver recruited her earlier this year,” Rene said, a sad look coming over his face as he remembered Dinah’s death.

 

“Speaking of, where am I? I mean, if Thea was throwing a party for Oliver, I assumed I’d be on the guest list,” Laurel wondered before she saw the look on Arsenal’s face. “Oh.”

 

“No. No, you can’t…” Quentin trailed off, unable to imagine the horrible reality.

 

“I’m sorry,” Arsenal said remorsefully.

 

“Hey, dad, it’s okay,” Laurel grabbed her father’s hand. “This is why we came here, right? To make sure this future doesn’t happen?”

 

“Yeah. Our future, it’s set in stone Cap-Detective,” Arsenal corrected himself but Quentin was simply too distraught to notice. “But your future is what you make of it. All you have to do is make the right choices.”

 

After a moment, Quentin nodded but his hand did not leave Laurel’s. Not that she minded, if it helped him to have physical contact with her.

 

**As Oliver and Diggle make small talk, Quentin arrives with a gift. As Thea lets him in, they talk about Rene and Quentin says he wasn’t home, for a few days from the pile of newspaper it seems.**

“Where were you anyway?” Roy asked as he looked over at Rene, who winced.

 

“You’ll see,” Rene muttered, to their confusion.

 

“Just watch,” Arsenal said simply and, although curiously, the time travelers turned back to the holographic screen.

 

**Not long after, everyone toasts to Oliver’s birthday and they discuss what they’re going to do since they aren’t saving the city now. Thea, Quentin, Diggle, and Curtis none too subtly walk off, attempting to give Oliver and Felicity some privacy, to their amusement.  Oliver and Felicity agree to take it one step at a time as Felicity encourages Oliver to let go. They’ve won, she reminds him, he can relax now.**

“She couldn’t be more wrong about that,” Rene muttered.

 

“Why? What happens?” Thea asked wearily.

 

“Just watch,” Mia said simply.

 

**The recording flashes back five years. Oliver is held captive by Kovar on Lian Yu.**

“What, what is this?” Thea asked confused.

 

“This is a flashback Oliver is currently having. He’s remembering five years ago, when he was still on Lian Yu,” Arsenal explained.

 

“Like we said, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride,” Mia said.

 

“So buckle up,” Rene said grimly as the time travelers tensed, having a feeling that this wasn’t going to be pretty.

 

**Oliver says he killed Kovar but Kovar says nothing ever really dies. Kovar pulls out what he calls The Red Death, an interrogation drug that induces psychological anguish. Kovar asks Oliver if he was planning on going home, why return to the island? Oliver simply responds by telling Kovar to go to hell.**

“Wait; was Ollie not on the island?” Thea asked confused.

 

“No, he was…just not for the whole five years,” Mia said, to the shock of the time travelers.

 

“If he could get off the island, why didn’t he come home?” Moira demanded hurt.

 

“He was stranded there for the first two years, then he was ‘rescued’ by a woman who held him hostage or people would die. He was granted his freedom two years later, but by then, he didn’t feel he deserved to go home. He met a woman who helped him see he could, but it wasn’t that simple. What you’re seeing is the end of Oliver’s five years away,” Arsenal explained.

**Kovar injects Oliver with the Red Death and Oliver, in obvious pain, threatens to kill Kovar, for good this time. Kovar vaguely says that the only person will want to kill is himself.**

**Flashing back to the present, Curtis is talking to Felicity on the phone, gushing about her and Oliver, to her amusement, as he heads to Dinah’s apartment. As he reaches the front door, he notices the broken glass. As he opens the door, he calls out, noticing signs of a struggle. As Felicity talks to him, someone hits Curtis on the head, knocking him out. As Felicity calls from him, someone drags Curtis away from his phone.**

“What the hell was that?!” Roy exclaimed shocked as the time travelers stared.

 

“I’m guessing that was what you were talking about?” Quentin said as he glanced over at Mia and Rene, who nodded.

 

“Like we told you, it’s going to be a bumpy ride Detective,” Arsenal said as the recording continued.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: I think something pretty drastic had to happen for Roy to strand himself on Lian Yu in the future. And since Roy is finally set to appear in present day in the episode twenty of this season and since we know of Emiko’s hatred for Oliver, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had Thea killed to hurt Oliver.
> 
> 2: I’ve made it pretty clear my dislike of Olicity. At this point, I don’t even dislike Felicity, I just dislike the relationship. When it comes down to it, it’s just not healthy. They don’t understand who the other really is, so how can they truly love each other if they don’t understand each other. And they don’t help each other become better, they enable each other. Well, Oliver enables Felicity since she can apparently do no wrong, even when she outright commits treason. Felicity has the opposite problem where nothing Oliver does is ever good enough it seems.


	3. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time travelers get one bombshell after another as the recordings continue.

**Oliver and Diggle, armed with guns, burst into Dinah’s apartment, looking around for any threat. They quickly find that no one is there and Oliver finds Curtis’ phone on the floor, surrounded by broken glass. Felicity chimes in over the Comms that Rene was probably captured as well. Oliver quickly realizes Chase is picking them off one at a time.**

 

“Who is this Chase guy?” Quentin asked, remembering the news report at the beginning.

 

“He’s Justin Clayborne’s son,” Arsenal said and Quentin’s eyes widened in realization, as did Laurel and Moira’s.

 

“I’m sorry, who?” Thea asked, speaking for herself and Roy.

 

“Justin Clayborne, he was a business tycoon who acquired the rights to a drug called Dycloseral, which can treat tuberculosis. Only, when there was an outbreak in Lamb Valley, he jacked up the prices to far past reasonable,” Quentin explained. “Oliver put an arrow in his chest, but he died from drowning.”

 

“From the sounds of it, he had it coming,” Mia said and was shot several looks.

 

“He was immoral, but he didn’t deserve a death sentence,” Quentin disagreed.

 

“Only his crimes weren’t just limited to being greedy,” Rene said, to the confusion of the time travelers.

 

“After he gave Clayborne his little warning, Oliver did a little digging. Clayborne was part of a black market marketers group that specialized in bio-weapons. Guess what they were working on,” Arsenal said.

 

“Weaponized Tuberculosis,” Laurel realized and the trio nodded.

 

“Dad was understandably pissed, so he killed Clayborne. He was more merciful than I would’ve been,” Mia shrugged.

 

**Oliver and Diggle realize Chase’s plan has been to catch them off guard by making them think they’d won. Felicity suspects Evelyn and ‘evil Laurel’ as Oliver finds a flechette sticking out of a book.**

“Wait, evil Laurel?” Laurel questioned stunned.

 

“Have you ever heard of the multiverse?” Arsenal asked.

 

“What?” Quentin asked as all of them looked confused.

 

“Take that as a no,” Rene said dryly.

 

“Basically, there are these parallel earths, different dimensions. Through a portal called a Breach, we can travel between them. About a year prior to this, your Doppelganger from what some friends of ours call Earth-2 crossed over here. She ended up working with Chase,” Arsenal explained.

 

“I would’ve said you were crazy before today. But at this rate, I’ll believe anything,” Quentin said with a sigh as Laurel was processing there was another version of her.

 

**Oliver realizes the arrow is from Talia al Ghul and her students.**

Moira starts at the name. She wonders what her connection to Ra’s was and how Oliver knew her.

**Oliver orders Diggle to get Thea and Quentin somewhere safe and Diggle suggests a safe house across town. Oliver agrees before going to see Chase.**

“What about mom?” Thea realized in horror as she turned towards her mother and Arsenal, Rene, and Mia stiffened. “What if Chase tries to get her to?”

 

“Well…you see…” Rene trailed off, trying to come up with the words.

 

“I’m already dead, aren’t I?” Moira asked and everyone froze.

 

“How’d you figure it out?” Mia asked softly as Moira smiled sadly.

“I suspected when there wasn’t so much as a mention of a card from me for Oliver’s birthday. Prison or not, I would send my son a card on his birthday. Hearing how he wasn’t concerned about my safety when Chase was targeting his loved ones was all the confirmation I needed,” Moira said with a sad smile. “When did it happen?”

 

“Ten months from when we took you,” Arsenal said and Moira nodded.

 

“How are you so calm about this?!” Thea asked about to have a nervous breakdown. “You’re dead mom!”

 

“Maybe it’s what I deserve,” Moira’s declaration stunned everyone into silence as she got up, walking over to her daughter and taking her hand as she sat down next to her. “I killed over five hundred people…including Tommy.”

 

“You didn’t kill anyone Moira,” Quentin said and Moira smiled kindly at him.

 

“Thank you Quentin, but I built the weapon Malcolm was going to use and I knew what he would do with it. There has to be a price to pay for that,” Moira said as she took Thea’s face in her hands. “Thea, I’ve done many questionable things in my life. But, among all of them, are my greatest achievements: you and your brother.”

 

Thea broke down at this, crying into her mother’s arms. Everyone was silent, letting Thea let it out. Moira simply stroked her daughter’s hair, attempting to comfort her as Thea said ‘I’m sorry’ over and over again.

 

“Your future isn’t set in stone,” Arsenal said once Thea had gained control of her emotions. “That’s why you’re here. To make sure this future never happens. The first step would be preventing Moira from dying.”

 

After a moment, Thea nodded and Mia pressed a button, resuming the recording.

**At Argus, Oliver stormed over to Adrian’s cell, glaring at him through the glass door. Adrian taunts Oliver about the fact he never knows Adrian’s next move. Frustrated, Oliver declares he will find his team before storming off.**

**The recording flashes back five years earlier to Lian Yu. Kovar explains Oliver is such a formidable foe because he thinks nothing can hurt him, he thinks he’s experienced every kind of pain imaginable. Kovar touches him on the shoulder, on the side, and on his back and Oliver cries out as he flashes back to Yao-Fei shooting him in the shoulder, Billy Wintergreen stabbing him, and being whipped by Conklin.**

“That son of a bitch,” Quentin said, feeling righteous fury as he gained a new hatred for Kovar at what h was forcing Oliver to go through.

 

Thea simply put a hand to face, staring in horror at what her brother had to go through. Roy took her hand, but even he was a little squeamish at this. Moira was crying at this point, asking herself why she had let her son go on that damn boat trip. Laurel remembered how she had told Tommy ‘we’ve all been through a lot’. She wished she could go back and smack herself in the head.

 

**In the present, Oliver entered the lair to find it seemingly empty. Felicity jumped out from behind the corner, aiming an assault rifle at Oliver. Realizing it is only him; she puts the rifle down and says she will be relieved to be in an Argus safe house. Oliver says she’s not going to a safe house, to her shock. She points out that Malcolm has proved that locks don’t keep out the League of Assassins.**

“Wait, Malcolm Merlyn? He’s still…” Quentin trailed off as they all turned to Arsenal.

 

“I used to think he was a cockroach, someone who would outlive us all,” Arsenal said gruffly.

 

“Oliver stabbed him through the chest!” Quentin exclaimed in denial.

 

“Merlyn had a bunch of resources, including one in the coroner. Merlyn’s inside man smuggled him out and got him somewhere safe until he could recover,” Arsenal said.

 

“That son of a bitch!” Laurel snarled, filled with rage as Moira paled, knowing he would come for her.

 

“Okay, let’s calm down,” Quentin sighed, trying to think rationally. “We know he’s alive. So we can prepare now.”

 

“You don’t prepare for Malcolm Quentin,” Moira said in a shaking voice, knowing she was dead no matter what.

 

“There’s only one way to deal with Merlyn,” Mia said and they all turned to her. “Dad needs to kill him.”

 

“He tried that already, didn’t take,” Roy pointed out.

 

“When you get back, have Oliver seek out Talia al Ghul, have her complete his training,” Arsenal said.

 

“As in the same woman who’s working with Chase?” Laurel asked incredulously.

 

“She hates Oliver because he killed her father, due to events set in motion by Merlyn. Those events won’t happen for almost two years in your time, more than enough time to change it. You wanna stop Merlyn. The only way is for Oliver to kill him and he won’t be able to do that without Talia’s training,” Arsenal said.

 

**Oliver insists he needs Felicity with him so the two of them can stop Chase. Felicity asks if tactic is the only thing making him keep her close. Oliver admits it isn’t, but the main reason is that he let his guard down. He knew something was wrong and now everyone he loves, including his son, is in danger.**

“Since when does Oliver have a son?” Quentin wondered as Moira stiffened.

 

“Something you wanna talk about grandma?” Mia asked as everyone turned to Moira.

 

“If you don’t tell them, I will. But it should come from you,” Arsenal said and Moira sighed.

 

“You’re right,” Moira admitted and turned to the Lances and Thea. “About a year before The Gambit, Oliver confided in me that he’d gotten a girl, Samantha Clayton, pregnant.”

 

“He cheated on me again?” Laurel asked, more shocked than anything.

 

“If it helps, dad was just too drunk to think rationally. He didn’t even remember anything about that night except waking up next to her the next day,” Mia shrugged.

 

“Somehow, that doesn’t help,” Laurel said sarcastically.

 

“Why am I just hearing about this now?” Thea demanded.

 

“Because I paid Samantha a million dollars to move to Central City and tell Oliver she lost the baby,” Moira admitted and they all stared at her shocked.

 

“You robbed him of knowing his child,” Quentin said in disgust.

 

“I knew Oliver wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility and I wanted my grandchild to have a good life. So I ensured that I my grandchild would have a good life and I planned to tell Oliver the truth when the time was right,” Moira said.

 

“You never even gave him the chance mom,” Thea said angrily and her mother sighed.

 

“Maybe I didn’t. I’ve thought a lot about that, especially since I’ve been in prison, if I made the right choice. And…seeing you here, I made a choice,” Moira said as she looked over at Mia. “When we get back, I’m going to tell Oliver the truth; and I’ll deal with the consequences, whatever they may be.”

 

Privately, Arsenal wondered how Moira would have reacted to Emiko if Robert had told her. In the end, he supposed it didn’t matter. Emiko’s mother had made it clear she would ruin Robert’s reputation if he tried to have any involvement in Emiko’s life and had fed her daughter lies, turning Emiko into a psychopath who hated Oliver.1

 

**Felicity assures Oliver Chase won’t be able to find William but Oliver is doubtful. Diggle walks in then, telling them that Thea and Quentin are safely hauled up in an Argus safe house. Felicity suddenly gets an alert from Argus, telling them Black Siren isn’t in her cell. They realize that Quentin doesn’t know about her and that’s why Chase will send her right to him.**

“I’m guessing Black Siren is my evil twin?” Laurel asked and Arsenal and Rene nodded.

 

“She wasn’t evil really. She’d just been handed some bad deals in life and was under some bad influences. She came around, she was actually one of the leading forces to getting Oliver out of prison,” Arsenal said.

 

**At the safe house, a bored Thea complains about not having a phone to Quentin. Quentin mentions that he wants a phone himself to talk to a judge about Rene’s case. He lost a daughter and doesn’t want the same thing to happen to Rene.**

“Good old Hoss,” Rene smiled gratefully at Quentin, who simply nodded.

 

**One of the guards discovers the Comms are down and walks out, ordering Quentin and Thea to stay there. They ignore him, Quentin pulling out a pistol and walking out. They discover the guard unconscious and Thea takes the guard’s gun as they split up. Quentin walks into a room and sees someone hiding behind the corner. Quentin barks at them to come out and is shocked when he sees Black Siren come out, mistaking her for Laurel. Thea walks in, telling him not to take his gun off. But before she can explain, Thea and Quentin are both hit by tranq darts. They fall down, unconscious as Black Siren walks over to Quentin, he looking up at her before he loses consciousness completely.**

“Dad,” Laurel said as she grabbed her father’s hand in a vice like grip.

 

Quentin knew assuring her he was right here wouldn’t do any good, so he simply wrapped her arm around her, hoping his presence would bring her comfort.

 

Thea suddenly found herself wrapped up in a hug by her mother and her hand in a vice like grip by Roy.

 

Arsenal had certainly been right when he said that it was going to be a bumpy ride. And the time travelers had a feeling it wasn’t even close to over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Honestly, the only thing the Emiko plot has done is destroy the basis of Oliver’s crusade. To make Emiko into a villain, they had to completely destroy the characters of both Robert and Moira, making them into completely unlikable people. Robert went from someone who was deeply flawed but a good person to a complete jackass with a few good deeds under his belt, someone who is clearly not worth honoring. Moira likewise went from someone who made quite a few bad choice but was simply doing what she thought was best for her family to a control freak with no moral compass. Honestly, the hatred for season one Oliver is so disturbing, I never even hated Felicity as much as they seem to hate Oliver.


	4. Parental revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the recordings continue, Laurel, Sara, and Thea are each given a stunning revelation about their families.

Everyone was tense in the room; even those from the future were affected by the tension as the recordings continued.

 

**As Argus agents swarmed the safe house, Felicity brings up footage of Black Siren impersonating Laurel as Quentin and Thea are hit by tranq darts on her tablet and shows the footage to Oliver. As they wonder who the second assailant is, Diggle walks up, confirming it was Evelyn Sharp.**

“Who is this Evelyn?” Quentin wondered.

 

“Evelyn Sharp. She was recruited onto the team right alongside me and Curtis. She blames Oliver for her parents’ deaths,” Rene sighed.

 

“Why would she blame Ollie?” Thea asked softly.

 

“Because Dig, Thea and Felicity were kidnapped by a man named Damien Darhk, who tried to kill them with a gas chamber. Darhk, he had this pill that made anyone who took it susceptible to suggestion. Oliver saved Dig, Thea and Felicity, but he left everyone else there, including Evelyn and her parents,” Arsenal explained.

 

“I’m guessing Darhk killed them?” Roy asked and his future self nodded grimly.

 

“Chase manipulated her, turned her against Oliver, and she joined him. Maybe there was still good in her at this point but to be honest, you can’t save someone who doesn’t wanna be saved,” Rene sighed sadly.

 

**As Diggle and Felicity attempt to figure out Chase’s plan, Oliver has already figured it out: Chase wants to use his loved ones to force Oliver into breaking him out of Argus. Oliver then demands Diggle and Felicity leave Star City, to their shock. From Oliver’s point of view, if he doesn’t have to focus on protecting them, he can focus on finding the others and stopping Chase.**

“… That is so stupid,” Roy said after a moment and his girlfriend glared at him. “What? It is! How is sending them away going to help him stop Chase? He’s gonna get himself killed.”

 

“That’s the thing about Oliver. Sometime, he doesn’t think things through. Other times, he over thinks things and it causes him to make mistakes,” Arsenal sighed.

 

**Flashing back to the island, Oliver wakes up in a cell. Kovar is standing outside the cell, taunting Olivier. He tells Olivier the drug will bring Oliver’s worst pain to the surface as Oliver remembers killing Tatiana, Ivo killing Shado, bashing Ivo’s man’s head in with a rock as Slade and Shado watch, and what he did to Shrieve.**

“Oliver went through things most people can’t even imagine, going against evil that most don’t even know exist,” Arsenal said softly as the time travelers simply stared in shock, horrified by what he had to endure. “Honestly, I’m surprised he came back with his sanity intact, if half the things he told me about his time away are true.”

 

“Maybe he didn’t. Not completely anyway,” Rene said grimly.

**Kovar slides a gun through the bars, telling Oliver it has one bullet. Olivier can either kill Kovar…or turn the gun on himself. As Kovar leaves, Olivier sees a hallucination of Yao-Fei, urging him to take his own life.**

“Who the hell is that?” Laurel asked, staring at the unknown man on the screen and noticing he had Oliver’s hood.

 

“That is Yao-Fei, the first person Oliver met on the island. He’s also the first person in a long list that Oliver lost over those five years,” Arsenal said sadly.

 

**Back in the present, Oliver walks into Chase’s cell, punching him and throwing him to the floor. Oliver pulls out a gun and knelt down in front of Chase; putting it to his head before vowing that he will never kill Chase, never give him the satisfaction of being who Chase thinks he is.**

“I feel like I’m missing something here. Why is he not killing Chase? What’s he trying to prove?” Quentin wondered.

 

“Chase thinks dad is a sociopath who kills because it gives him some sort of sadistic pleasure. He even tortured dad for a week until he convinced him it was true for a while,” Mia said and the time travelers stared in shock.

 

“That is utter bull,” this, surprisingly, came from Quentin Lance of all people. “Even back when I hated him, I never thought he killed because he wanted to. He left too many people alive to get some sort of joy out of killing.”1

 

**Chase, amused, tells Oliver he’s wrong. Everyone in his orbit pays the price for Oliver’s sins, Chase taunted, and the only way to stop it is to let Chase go. Oliver refuses, exiting the cell as Chase warns him that he’s being transferred to Idaho before morning and the office expires when that happens. Chase continues to taunt Oliver about how he’s ‘one loss away from being completely destroyed’.**

**In the back of a truck, Thea is trying to explain to Quentin that Black Siren isn’t Laurel. Quentin is blinded by the joy that, like Sara, Laurel is ‘back’.**

Mia paused the recording as the entire room, especially Laurel and Quentin, seemed to freeze.

 

“Back?” Quentin asked his mouth suddenly very dry.

 

“That’s-that’s not possible. Ollie, I asked him and he told me she was dead!” Laurel exclaimed.

 

“And what he told you was true, as far as he knew,” Arsenal said and the Lances looked over at him. “As far as you knew at that time, Sara Lance was dead. About four months from when you come, he will learn otherwise.”

 

“So, she’s alive?” Quentin asked emotionally and nearly burst into tears of joy when Arsenal nodded in confirmation.

 

“Yeah, mom has a habit of avoiding death,” Mia said and you could hear a pin drop in the   room as suddenly, it was very silent.

 

“…what?” Laurel asked, sure she had misheard.

 

“Yeah, this one is the result of Oliver and Sara’s impeccable genetics,” Rene said.2

 

“Hi Aunt Laurel. Hi grandpa,” Mia said dryly as she waved sarcastically.

 

“I knew it! I saw it and I told myself I was imagining it. You have your mom’s smile,” Quentin said as they all stared at Mia, those who had known her now seeing the resemblance to Sara Lance.

 

“Your mom, is she…” Laurel trailed off, seeing the answer on Mia’s face.

 

“She went off on a mission, sent me to stay with a family friend until she got back. Only she never did,” Mia said with a pained look on her face. “You guys have no idea how lucky you are. At least you get them back. My mom disappeared when I was six and the only memories I have of my dad are these recordings and old news footage. At least when you get back, you can talk with them, touch them. I’m not that lucky.”

 

No one could say anything in response because, well, she was right. Mia, or at least this version of her, would never see her parents again. It was sad, but true. Tired of the silence, Mia resumed the recording.

 

**Thea explains about the multiverse and, although at first resistant, Quentin accepts the truth with more than a little devastation. The truck stops and the backs opens up, revealing Evelyn and Black Siren.**

**Elsewhere, Diggle is driving a car out of the city, Felicity in the passenger seat. Felicity tells Diggle about a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, telling him they shouldn’t have left Oliver alone.**

**In the lair, Oliver gets the feeling he is being watched. He walks over to the suit display as someone watches him from the rafters.**

“I always hated it when she was right,” Arsenal muttered as the time travelers tensed.

 

**Back in the car, Diggle attempts to sooth Felicity’s nerves as, back in the lair, the person on the rafters jumped down to the floor. Oliver grabs a flechette and throws it. Malcolm Merlyn easily caught it as Oliver grabbed Thea’s Katana.**

“That son of a bitch,” Quentin said as Moira tensed, worried Malcolm had come to take revenge on Oliver for stopping The Undertaking.

 

“What is he gonna do to Ollie?” Laurel asked worriedly.

 

“Depends on the day of the week,” Mia said sarcastically.

 

“But, in this case, Malcolm and Oliver are actually are on the same side,” Arsenal said, to the disbelief of the time travelers.

 

**Merlyn does not get a warm welcome, as Oliver is still furious that Malcolm told Darhk about William. Merlyn brushes it off, only concerned with his daughter’s life.**

“Merlyn has a daughter?” Roy asked as Moira tensed, worried her secret would come out.

 

“Something you wanna share grandma?” Mia asked pointedly as everyone but Moira looked confused. “It’s gonna come up, she should hear it from you.”

 

“She’s right. In the future where I’m from, it came from one of Oliver’s enemies and it nearly destroyed her relationship with both you and Oliver. You may think you’re protecting her…but she needs to know. If you don’t tell her, I will,” Arsenal said bluntly.

 

“Mom?” Thea asked confused as Moira sighed, taking Thea’s hand.

 

“Thea, you know Robert…was not the most faithful husband. When he was engaging in his…extra marital activities…I had a moment of weakness. I cheated on him. With Malcolm Merlyn,” Moira said and you could hear a pin drop.

 

“No. No, I ask you!” Thea exclaimed.

 

“Thea, honey, it was only one time. But, as they say, one time is all it takes. Nine months later…you were born sweetheart,” Moira said and Thea paled as it seemed everyone who didn’t know had their jaw on the floor. “Malcolm is your biological father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to stop it there, that just felt like a really good stopping point.
> 
> 1: I’ve covered this in a few other stories, but basically, the idea that Oliver enjoys killing people for the sake of killing is just utter bull. On some level, does Oliver enjoy killing? Probably, but it’s not out of some sociopathic thrill like the show and the writers would have you believe, but the satisfaction of ridding his city of evil. Oliver lets too many people live when he could have easily killed them to enjoy killing for the sake of killing. You don’t believe me, go rewatch season one, I don’t care.
> 
> 2: Yes, Sara is Mia’s mother in this universe. Honestly, Sara being Mia’s mother would make more sense that Felicity, simply because Mia looks, acts, and even dresses more like Sara than Felicity.


	5. Humanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Thea reels from the revelation of her parentage, the time travelers learn the depths Chase is willing to go to in order to obtain his vengeance.

“No. No, this can’t,” Thea shot out of her seat, stalking around the room as she tried to make sense of the fact that her world had suddenly changed.

 

“Thea-” Moira started.

 

“How could you not tell me!?” Thea demanded as she whirled on her mother.

 

“I was trying to protect you Thea,” Moira tried to explain.

 

“How could lying to me about my whole life protect me?!” Thea snarled in a way that reminded them all of The Hood.

 

“Spooky,” Quentin muttered and Laurel glared at him.

 

“Thea, Malcolm was a very different man once. He was kind, he was loving. Tommy and Oliver both adored him and he them,” Moira said and everyone paused, listening to Moira. “When Rebecca died, something in him snapped. He left, for two years he left. When he came back, he was so different. His behavior, especially towards Tommy…it concerned me. I kept the truth from him and you because I wasn’t sure what to make of this new Malcolm.”

 

“More like you were protecting yourself,” Thea spat and Moira winced.

 

“Perhaps that was part of it to,” Moira admitted. “What I didn’t realize until after The Gambit went down was that Malcolm, the real Malcolm; he never came back at all. It just looked like he did; who really came back was a monster that wore his face. I didn’t want you to be anywhere near that. Honey, Malcolm may have created, but Robert was your father.”

 

“Only because he didn’t know the truth,” Thea said bitterly.

 

“Actually, that’s not true,” Arsenal said and they all looked over at him stunned. “Robert, he had a DNA test done. He knew you weren’t his, biologically speaking.”

 

“He never said anything,” Moira said stunned.

 

“Because to him, it didn’t matter,” Arsenal said as he looked over at Thea. “Thea, Robert made a choice. He chose you. He chose to be your father when he didn’t have to be. Whatever blood or genetics may say, Robert Queen was your father because he chose to be.”

 

For a moment, Thea just stared blankly. Then, her head lowered, her shoulders heaving as she started crying. Roy stood up and rushed to her side as she sunk to her knees, sobbing.

 

“If you need a minute, there’s a room down the hall,” Rene offered.

 

Roy nodded in thanks, leading his sobbing girlfriend out of the room as Moira watched with guilt and worry.

 

“If she’s anything like the Thea I know, she’ll be fine,” Rene said as he saw Moira’s face.

 

“She hates me,” Moira sighed.

 

“No, this is just messing with her head,” Arsenal disagreed. “You should have told her the truth a long time ago, but you can’t change that now. All you can do is be there for Thea when she lets you be.”

 

“As much as I love the family drama, we need to keep going,” Mia said sarcastically and Arsenal nodded in agreement.

 

“She’s right. We can catch Thea and Roy up later, but right now; we need to finish this,” he said as Mia resumed the recording.

 

**Diggle and Felicity see a woman in black standing in the road, causing Felicity to have flashbacks of Isabel Rochev.**

 

Moira sat up straighter, wondering how they knew about that vile woman.

 

**Diggle drove head fist toward the woman but she pulled out two swords, slashing the side of the car. Diggle lost control of the vehicle and car crashed into the side of a utility truck. An injured Diggle and Felicity get out only to find themselves surrounded by Talia’s students.**

“Shit,” Quentin summed up what they were all thinking.

 

**Later, Oliver and Malcolm drive up to the scene on motorcycles, finding only the downed car. Malcolm asks a frustrated Oliver why he hasn’t tagged the team and Oliver explains that he did, but Chase’s EMP rendered them useless. Oliver explains Chase’s plan and Malcolm is stumped that Oliver hasn’t given in with Thea’s life on the line. They argue with Oliver standing firm on his decision that he has to keep the people in his life at arm’s length to protect them. A notion that Malcolm finds stupid.**

“I hate to say it, but Merlyn is right,” Quentin said and his daughter and Moira glared at him. “His connections to people are what make him human. If Oliver loses sight of that…well, then he’s no better than Merlyn.”

 

**Malcolm shouts at Oliver that his connections are Oliver’s link to his humanity, noting the irony that he of all people has to point that out to him. If Oliver can’t accept that he is, in fact, human, he will remain trapped in the past, Malcolm warns him.**

“Well, that’s disturbing,” Quentin noted uncomfortably, the similarities to what he said and what Malcolm said eerie.

 

At that moment, the door opened as Roy and Thea reentered the room. Mia paused the recording once more as Thea sat down on the couch, taking the seat furthest from Moira, refusing to look at her mother. Roy uncomfortably sat between the Queen women, looking anywhere else.

 

“So, what’d we miss?” Roy asked awkwardly.

 

“Well, Felicity and Diggle were captured and dad got some advice on being human from Malcolm Merlyn. So, not much,” Mia shrugged as Thea laughed humorlessly.

 

“Oh, what kind of twisted world are we living in?” Thea wondered.

 

No one really had an answer to that, so Mia resumed the recording once more.

 

**Oliver got a call, alerting him that Chase’s prison transfer was underway. Oliver tells Malcom, perhaps a bit naively, that they can and will stop Chase and save everyone.**

**The recording then flashes back to Lian Yu. The hallucination Yao-Fei reminds Oliver of his sacrifice for Oliver, which was rendered meaningless by Shado’s death. Oliver brokenly apologizes but Yao-Fei points out it won’t bring Shado back, just as it won’t bring back Sara, Akio, or Tatiana. Oliver tries to tell himself it’s in his head but Yao-Fei counters by pointing out Oliver himself knows the ‘truth’: Those closest to Oliver suffer for his actions. The only way to protect them is to end it all, Yao-Fei told him as Oliver points the gun at his head…**

Thea put her hands over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs, tears streaming down her face as Roy wrapped an arm around her, not able to say anything because…well, what could he say to that?

 

Quentin felt sick to his stomach, filled with shame as he remembered how he’d treated Oliver when he’d come back.

 

Laurel, like her father, was filled with shame as she remembered telling Oliver whatever he’d suffered hadn’t been enough. How wrong she’d been. Whatever he’d done, he’d paid for it a thousand fold what he deserved.

 

Moira, once again, simply cursed herself for ever letting Oliver go on that damn boat as tears streamed down her face.

 

**Back in the present, Quentin is led into a shipping container by Black Siren. Quentin bulks at her calling him ‘dad’ and points out she’s not his Laurel. Black Siren acts concerned and tells him she’s doing this with Chase’s insurance that Quentin won’t be hurt. Quentin scoffs at this and Black Siren extends her sympathies for his loss before leaving him alone.**

Quentin frowned, considering his daughter’s doppelganger. From what he was told, buried underneath that cold exterior was a good person. Maybe she just needed the right person to bring it out.

 

**At Argus, Chase is being escorted out by armed guards when he taunts Oliver. Oliver roughly grabbed him, telling him he wasn’t playing Chase’s game anymore. Chase taunts him that his allies have orders to kill Oliver’s loved ones if Oliver doesn’t hold up his end of the bargain but Oliver is convinced he’s bluffing. As he is lead down the hall, Chase tells Oliver he’s about to get a phone call. Once Chase disappears around the corner, Oliver does indeed get a request for a video chat. Oliver accepts and stares in horror at his son, William, begging for help.**

 

“Chase brought a kid into this?” Roy asked horrified as the time travelers stared in horror.

 

“Not just any kid,” Mia said. “That’s my brother.”

 

“Chase tracked him down while Oliver and Felicity were tapped in the bunker and the rest of us were focused on getting them out,” Rene added.

 

“My god,” Quentin said what they were all thinking.

 

“That pretty much covers it Detective,” Arsenal sighed.

 

**Outside, Oliver bursts through the doors just as the prison transport drives off. Oliver stops part of the escort and tries to take the van, fighting off Argus operatives until they are hit with tranq darts. Oliver looks up to see Malcolm in his suit standing on a street light. Malcolm has already guessed Chase took William and tosses Oliver a bag.**

“So he’s gonna work with Merlyn?” Laurel asked in disgust.

 

“He’ll work with anyone who can help him get his son back,” Quentin said, thinking back to when Laurel had been kidnapped and he’d called Oliver for help. “He’ll work with the devil himself if he has to.”

 

**The guards are leading Chase towards the chopper when there is an explosion from the entrance to the gate. Oliver, in a black mask armed with his bow and arrow, and Malcolm burst in, taking out multiple Argus guards, not fatally, to Malcolm’s annoyance. Oliver realizes they’re going to start targeting Chase and so Malcolm covers him. Malcolm takes out the guards as Oliver rushes forward. Chase runs towards the chopper with Oliver in hot pursuit. Oliver stops Chase, grabbing him by his shirt just before he gets in the chopper.**

**Oliver demands to know where his son is but Chase counters that the deal was that he would keep Oliver’s loved ones safe if Oliver let him go. Oliver takes off his mask, demanding to know why Chase would involve an innocent like William. Chase counters that Doris was innocent as well until Oliver involved her.**

“Chase had a wife?” Roy questioned, wondering who would be crazy enough to marry Chase.

 

“Chase had kidnapped Oliver’s girlfriend at the time, was holding her hostage. Oliver thought he could beat Chase at his own game, so he exposed the truth about Chase to his wife,” Rene sighed.

 

“Only Chase’s hatred of Oliver was stronger than whatever love he felt for Doris, because he stabbed her and framed Oliver for it. She died before she could even get out the hospital,” Arsenal said to the horror of the time travelers.

 

“Good god, this guy is a monster,” Thea muttered.

 

“What was your first clue?” Mia asked sarcastically.

 

**Everything you touch dies, Chase tells Oliver before getting in the chopper, taunting Oliver one last time before starting the chopper. Oliver stares up, powerless as Chase takes off.**


	6. Back to the beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More revelations are made as the first recording comes to an end.

**The recording continues with Oliver and Malcolm back in the lair, trying to track Chase’s plane. Malcolm mentioned how his associates four years ago had believed Oliver had computer skills. Oliver says he had good hardware and a specific purpose.**

“Please. More like he let Felicity take complete control and his skills rusted until they didn’t exist anymore,” Mia scoffed.1

 

“When I joined, Felicity barely let anyone but her touch the computers,” Arsenal admitted.

 

“Mom told me he let her have control over the computers to make her feel more comfortable in her position on the team. Just one of many things he came to regret about Felicity joining the team,” Mia noted.

 

**The proximity alert goes off and Malcolm inquires on whether Oliver is expecting company. Oliver, knowing what he was up against, had called in help. Malcolm is amused but Oliver warns him to keep his ego in check. The elevator door opens and Nyssa al Ghul steps out, greeting Oliver and the furious Malcolm.**

“Husband?” Moira exclaimed shocked.

 

“Who is this woman?” Thea asked curiously.

 

“Nyssa al Ghul, second born to Ra’s al Ghul, sister to Talia, and my mom’s ex-girlfriend,” Mia said to the shock of nearly everyone. “And, in the eyes of the League of Assassins, my dad’s wife.”

 

“League of Assassins?” Quentin asked weakly, feeling a headache coming on.

 

“The group that trained Merlyn,” Arsenal clarified. “They’re a group of Assassins who move like shadows and vanish almost as soon as the job is done. Most don’t believe they exist. But they’re very real and extremely dangerous.”

 

“And…she’s his wife?” Laurel asked, gesturing to the screen.

 

“Long story short, dad was undercover within The League. He needed to convince Ra’s that he was loyal to him,” Mia explained, shrugging. “So Nyssa told me anyway.”

 

“Ex-girlfriend?” Laurel asked, that part catching up with her.

 

“Mom and Nyssa have a…complicated history,” Mia said vaguely.

 

**Malcolm refuses to work with Nyssa, but Oliver throws his earlier words about doing anything to save Thea back in his face. Malcolm relents.**

“So what’s their beef?” Roy asked curiously.

 

“After Oliver dealt with Ra’s, Malcolm took over leadership of the League. Thea was dying, Nyssa had a way to help her,” Arsenal said, looking over at his pale love as Roy wrapped an arm around her while Moira looked horrified. “She gave it to us after Oliver wrestled control of The League away from Malcolm. Her first and only act was to disband The League.”

 

“So Merlyn is bitter she cost him power? Typical,” Quentin rolled his eyes.

 

“This is the woman Oliver reached out to help?” Moira asked incredulously.

 

“She was in a bad place. And she’d come a long way since then,” Mia said in defense of her teacher.

 

**Malcolm then reveals that Talia is one of Chase’s allies, to Nyssa’s shock. Oliver starts to explain that he wanted to tell her the truth in person before the computers go off.**

“Oliver probably should have told her the truth before them,” Laurel mused.

 

“Kind of a face to face conversation, don’t you think?” Rene pointed out and Laurel shrugged, having to concede to his point.

**Oliver rushes over to the computer and, as he sees the route Chase took, realizes where Chase took everyone.**

“It’s pretty ironic, isn’t it?” Rene noted and Arsenal shrugged.

 

“It’s where it all started. Fitting that’s where it should all end,” Arsenal said as the time travelers looked at them in confusion.

 

“What are you taking about?” Roy asked bewildered.

 

“You’ll see in a minute,” Mia said vaguely.

 

**The scene changes to the next day. Oliver is flying a plane, Nyssa in the copilot seat with Malcolm standing behind them. Nyssa and Malcolm inquire why Chase would bring everyone there and how he knew about it. Oliver says Talia probably told him everything. Nyssa notes the irony of her father telling to visit there and finding Sara as the plane reaches the island of Lian Yu.**

“Well, I guess it started there, it had to end there as well,” Quentin noted dryly as everyone realized where exactly Chase had taken everyone.

 

**The recording flashes back five years ago. Oliver is about to pull the trigger but Laurel stops him, begging him not to. Laurel lowers the gun as Oliver says he has to make sure he doesn’t ‘infect’ everyone’s lives. Laurel tells him they love him in return for it. She, Thea, and Moira need him to come home to them, she tells him. If he kills himself, Sara and Robert’s deaths are meaningless, she points out. He looks over and sees she is now gone. His fighting spirit returned to him, Oliver fires. The bullet gets the lock on the cell, breaking it. Oliver, with some difficulty, pulls himself to his feet and opened the door, walking out.**

“I don’t think you know just how much my dad cares about you,” Mia told Laurel, who could only stare in shock at the screen.

 

“You are Oliver’s moral center, what kept him from completely losing it during those five years. Maybe that’s why when he started pushing you away, he lost sight of his true mission,” Arsenal mused.2

 

“Laurel, thank you,” Moira said quietly.

 

“I didn’t do anything,” Laurel argued.                 

 

“You gave him hope. In the darkest of times, you gave Oliver a reason to go. Without you…my son would not have come back to me,” Moira said, wiping her eyes.

 

Laurel wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so she was quiet as the recording continued.

 

**Back in the present, Diggle and Felicity have bags taken off their heads, finding themselves in the forests of Lian Yu, surrounded by Talia’s students. They are almost immediately chained up and see Quentin, Thea, and Curtis nearby in a similar state. Chase smugly walks up to them, flanked by Black Siren and Evelyn. One of Talia’s students puts a sword at Curtis’ throat when he mouths off to Chase, who makes it clear what will happen if Curtis does so again.**

“That son of a bitch, he’s enjoying this,” Quentin said as he glared at the screen.

 

“He’s a psycho who’s enjoyed everything up to this point. Why do you think he tried so hard to convince Oliver he was a psycho? He wanted there to be someone as sick and twisted as him,” Arsenal said.

 

**Thea demands to know why Chase brought them here. Chase doesn’t answer her, simply turns and starts walking off. Thea shouts that Oliver will come for them and Chase says he’s counting on that. They realize Chase’s plan then and Quentin points out the odds aren’t in Oliver’s favor. Felicity points out Oliver’s faced worse but Curtis argues that he had the rest of Team Arrow to help then. Diggle agrees, knowing Oliver can’t do this alone.**

“He’s gonna need all the help he can get,” Thea said worriedly and Arsenal, Mia, and Rene exchanged a glance.

 

“I hope you keep that in mind with what dad’s about to do next,” Mia said, to the confusion of the time travelers.

 

**On Lian Yu’s Argus prison, Oliver opens a door, walking inside the room. He drops a large duffle bag on the floor and walks up to a cell, telling the occupant he needs their help. Inside the cell, Slade Wilson laughs as he greets Oliver warmly before the screen goes black.**

“Who is that?” Quentin asked wearily.

 

“Slade Wilson. He is the man who was both Oliver’s closest ally and greatest enemy,” Arsenal said to the confusion of everyone.

 

“Dad and Slade have a complicated history,” Mia supplied.

 

“Yeah, I’m beginning to get that a lot of people have complicated history,” Quentin grumbled and Arsenal smiled.

 

“That’s life Detective. Okay, now I think we could all use a break. So, we all meet back here in twenty minutes, that sound okay?” Arsenal offered.

 

When no one voiced any opposition, Arsenal stood up and the doors opened. Everyone exited, each trying to digest what they had seen in their own way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mercile clearly think we’re stupid if they think ‘good Hardwar’ is going to make us believe that Oliver has no technical skills whatsoever. Anyone remember Oliver semi fixing the radio in the season flashbacks? I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t; because the writers have done their best to make you believe that Oliver has no talents outside combat. 
> 
> 2: I think you guys have figured out by now that the endgame for this is going to be Oliver/Sara. But, with that said, it wasn’t Sara that got Oliver through those five years of hell. It wasn’t the thought of getting back to Sara that convinced him not to pull that trigger. No, it was Laurel. One thing seasons one and two make absolutely clear is that it was Laurel who got him through that and Laurel that is Oliver’s moral center. Which explains why, once he started pushing her away, he lost sight of his true mission.


	7. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time travelers all take a moment to process what they have learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my best chapter, but it really wasn’t meant to be. This is just sort of transition chapter to show everyone dealing with what they’ve learned so far. Hope you enjoy it though.

Roy found Thea by a window, staring out at the utter wasteland that used to be their home. He walked over to her, standing next to her but not saying anything, waiting for her to speak. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Don’t tell me I need to forgive her,” Thea said in a cold voice.

“I wasn’t,” Roy smiled slightly when she looked at him incredulously. “I’m serious. I don’t exactly know what you’re going through, but I know talking to your mom probably won’t help.”

“She lied to me, my whole life she lied to me,” Thea said angrily.

“I know. There’s no excuse for that. I’d ask if you were okay…but I don’t see how you could be,” Roy said and Thea sighed.

“Honestly, I don’t even know how I’m feeling. Malcolm Merlyn is my father. I’m the daughter of not one, but two mass murderers. God, this is such a mess,” Thea said, laughing humorlessly. 

“You’re right, it is,” the two of them turned around to see Arsenal walking up to them. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Thea asked confused.

“That you’re in pain,” Arsenal said as he pulled out what looked like a disk. “This might not be the best time, but I have something for you.”

“What is that?” Roy asked wearily as Arsenal handed it to Thea.

“It’s a message from Robert,” Arsenal said and Thea started. “He made one for you and Oliver each before he died. Oliver found the messages, he didn’t show it to you because he thought the message would only cause you pain. But I think you need to hear what’s on this message, especially now.”

Arsenal then walked away, leaving Thea and Roy alone.

“If you wanna be alone, I can go,” Roy offered but Thea shook her head.

“Would you watch it with me?” Thea asked in a small voice.

Roy nodded as they sat down on a couch. Roy took her hand as she pressed the button on the device. Immediately, a holographic screen appeared in front of them and Thea breathed as she saw Robert Queen on it.

“Hey sweetheart. If you’re seeing this, it means I’m…gone,” Robert said with a sigh. “Thea, Athena. You were named after the Greek Goddess of wisdom. And that’s what you did; you made me a wiser man, a better man. Now I need you to do that for your brother kiddo. Whether he realizes it or not, he needs you. Long after your mother and I are gone, you two will still have each other. You two need to look out for each other…Thea, I haven’t lived a very good life, a vey honorable life. But, the two greatest achievements I have accomplished…will always be you and your brother. I love you kiddo, never forget that.”1

The screen faded and Thea lowered her head, her shoulders shaking as she stared to sob. Roy pulled her into his arms and tried his best to comfort her as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Moira watched from the doorway, guilt flooding her at the pain her daughter was in because of her. Rene walked up next to her, looking at the scene before looking back at Moira.

“She’ll be okay,” Rene assured her.

“I should have told her the truth,” Moira sighed in guilt.

“Yeah, you should’ve. But you can’t do anything about that now. All you can do is try and move forward with her when she lets you,” Rene paused before looking over at her. “At least you have a chance to start over with your daughter. Not everyone is that lucky.”

Rene then walked off, leaving Moira to her thoughts. She looked in on her daughter and Roy once more before she turned and walked out as well, needing to clear her head.

Quentin and Laurel were in what they assumed was a kitchen, but neither of them felt much like eating. Their minds were whirling with the knowledge that not only was Sara alive, but she would one day have a daughter with Oliver.

At that moment, Mia walked in, walking over to the fridge. She pulled out bottled water and took a drink, catching her grandfather and aunt staring at her, no doubt comparing her to her mother.

“If you want to say something, just do it. The staring is creepy,” Mia said, catching them off guard.

“Sorry, you just…you look so much like her,” Laurel said and Mia nodded.

“So I’ve been told,” Mia said dryly.

“You mother. When did she…” Quentin trialed off, not able to say it but Mia got the message.

“When I was three. I don’t really remember much of it because I was so young. Barry Allen, an old friend of dad’s, needed her help against some threat. Pretty much every remaining hero was called upon. When it was over...mom was among the casualties,” Mia said, remembering the news articles she’d looked up. “The media called it the crisis of 2024. Crisis seems pretty accurate. Barry disappeared, mom died, and pretty much every surviving hero went into hiding after that.”2

“I’m sorry,” Laurel said and Mia smiled sadly.

“Me to. I miss her every day. I try to hold onto the memories I have of her but…” Mia trailed off.

“You were so young, so it’s hard,” Quentin finished and Mia nodded.

“Like I said, at least you’ll get her back. Not all of us are so lucky,” Mia said bitterly before she walked out of the room. 

Quentin stared after her for a moment, his heart breaking for his granddaughter. 

“We have to change this future, for her,” Quentin told Laurel as he looked over at her. “Which means no going after Oliver when we get home.”

“You don’t need to tell me twice. All this time, I’ve been blaming Ollie for something that was my fault. The only reason Tommy was even there that day was because Ollie warned me not to go in but I was too stubborn to listen,” Laurel said, guilt crushing down on her.

“You can’t think like that baby,” Quentin said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s your fault, its tommy’s fault, its Oliver’s fault, who cares? Tommy wouldn’t want you two blaming yourselves for his death. Now isn’t a time to feel sorry for yourself Laurel.”

“I know. Now’s a time for action,” Laurel said as she thought of everything she’d learned since coming here. “We need to make sure this future never happens. Whatever it takes.”

“Whatever it takes,” Quentin agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: One thing that kind of bugs me about Robert’s message to Thea in the show is that it seems to be meant for a grown woman rather than a girl of twelve or younger, which Thea would have been when Robert made that video. So I tried to make it so that it sounded more like a message you’d leave for a child, not sure I succeeded though. 
> 
> 2: So, it’s pretty clear by now that not only are vigilantes outlawed in the future, but heroes in general are gone. Just from the recent episodes of Flash, it’s obvious Cisco, Caitlin, and Ralph aren’t around anymore. And I’m guessing it has something to do with the events of Arrow and the events leading to Barry disappearing in 2024, but that’s just my theory.


	8. Like old times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the second recording starts, the time travelers learn of the long and twisted history between Oliver and Slade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just thought I’d post this before I go to see Endgame. Hope you guys enjoy it.

 

When the twenty minute mark was over, everyone returned to the viewing room. Arsenal retook his seat and observed everyone else. Quentin and Laurel both seemed eager to see more, matching looks of determination on their faces he had seen on multiple occasions. Moira had a mask of neutrality on her face. From what he remembered of Moira, that meant she was in deep thought. His younger self simply looked concerned for Thea, who he was most worried about as well. Thea looked…okay, he supposed. She certainly wasn’t crying anymore and didn’t seem on the verge of a psychotic break. But he supposed only time would really allow her to process all this.

 

“Everyone ready?” Arsenal asked and no one spoke up. “Okay. Mia?”

 

Mia nodded, pressing a button and the holographic screen appeared again, the next recording starting.

 

**The recording opens with Oliver narrating.**

**“The name of the island they found me on is called Lian Yu. Its Mandurian, for Purgatory,” Oliver’s voice says.**

**In his cell, Slade stands up, inquiring about what brought Oliver back. Reluctant but resigned, Oliver simply repeats that he needs Slade’s help before unlocking the cell. A guard then bursts in, demanding answers. Oliver says he’s taking Slade and Digger Harkness before ordering the guard to leave on an Argus supply ship. When the guard refuses, Oliver punches him, knocking the guard out.**

“Rookie mistake. Never get in Oliver’s way when he’s on a mission,” Rene chuckled.

 

“Didn’t you learn that the hard way?” Mia smirked and everyone else snickered as Rene was silent.

 

**Oliver turns around to see Slade has already exited the cell. As Slade inquires about what’s going on, Oliver inquires about Slade’s state of mind. Slade explains that the Mirakuru ‘wore off a long time ago’. He remembers everything, but it just seems like a bad dream.**

“Okay, I have to ask. What’s the story between these two?” Laurel asked and Arsenal and Rene exchanged an uneasy glance.

 

“Slade was ASIS, Australian Intelligence. He was tasked with rescuing Yao-Fei from Lian Yu, but his plane got shot down. He survived the crash but was stranded on Lian Yu. He met Oliver about six months after he washed up on the island,” Arsenal explained. “Over time, the two formed a friendship that was stronger than any other Oliver had. Stronger than his bond with Tommy even. They were like brothers.”

 

“So what happened?” Quentin inquired.

“There was a woman, Shado,” Arsenal started.

 

“Yao-Fei’s daughter,” Thea remembered and Arsenal nodded.

 

“A mercenary named Fryers was on the island, he brought her there as leverage against Yao-Fei. After they defeated him, the three of them lived together for many months on the island until a freighter came to the island. A man named Ivo had come looking for The Mirakuru, a World War Two Japanese serum that would theoretically regenerate cells,” Arsenal explained.

 

“Only he didn’t come alone. Mom came with him,” Mia said and Laurel started.

 

“No, that’s impossible. Ollie, I asked him and he said she’d died quick,” Laurel said, angry at yet another lie.

 

“He told you what she made him promise her he’d tell you. She didn’t want you to know what she’d become,” Mia said and Laurel, still a little angry, couldn’t fault Oliver for keeping that promise.

 

“Anyway, Slade ended up pretty badly hurt. Oliver, Shado, and Sara thought the only way to help him was  the Mirakuru, so they injected him with it,” Rene explained.

 

“He passed out from it and Ivo and his man captured the others. Ivo put Sara and Shado on their knees and told Oliver to pick one and that person would die or else he would kill them both. Oliver refused to pick, so Ivo pointed his gun at Sara. Oliver put himself in front of Ivo’s gun, thinking he’d shoot him,” Arsenal paused but he didn’t need to say it.

 

“Let me guess, Ivo shot Shado instead,” Roy said horrified and his future self nodded.

 

“Slade came onto the scene moments earlier. Oliver didn’t tell him the truth because he blamed himself,” Arsenal said.

 

“Let me guess, Wilson found out another way?” Quentin said dryly and Arsenal nodded.

 

“Ivo, he twisted it to make it seem like dad chose to save mom instead of Shado. The Mirakuru may have saved Slade’s body, but it twisted his mind, drove him insane,” Mia explained.

 

“Slade turned on Oliver, promised to take away everyone and everything he loved before killing Oliver. Oliver responded by driving an arrow through Slade’s eye,” Rene said dryly.

 

“Oliver thought Slade was dead, but he underestimated the healing capabilities of the Mirakuru. When Slade found out Oliver was alive, he began planning his revenge. In three months from when you come, Slade will manipulate events so Oliver will return to Starling City so he can finally take it. Slade kills a lot of people, causes chaos and destruction until Oliver injects him with cure to the Mirakuru that Star Labs cooked up and imprisoned him on Lian Yu,” Arsenal finished.

 

“That is…so twisted,” Thea said after a moment of silence as they all processed the horrifying tale.

 

“That’s one way of putting it,” Moira muttered.

 

“We’re telling you this to be prepared. The Slade in these recordings is the good man he used to be. But when you go back, Slade is still a raving lunatic who will kill you all in order to get to Oliver,” Arsenal warned, making sure they all understood. “Now, enough talking. Mia?”

 

Mia nodded, resuming the recording.

 

**Slade asks why Oliver would help him after everything he’s done. Oliver explains the situation and Slade is thrown by the fact that Oliver has a son. Oliver, out of patience, demands to know if Slade will help him. Slade points out that he killed Moira, for which Oliver should have killed him.**

“What?!” Thea demanded in shock.

 

“He promised to destroy everything Oliver loved. He killed Moira in front of you two because Oliver wouldn’t pick between you and her, so Moira offered herself in your place,” Arsenal said as he looked at Moira sadly. “There was nothing he could do.”

 

“Thea, honey,” Moira stood up and Roy scooted over so Moira could sit by her daughter. “I’m right here. We can change this.”

 

“I know but…why on earth is he still alive?!” Thea demanded as she glared at the screen.

 

“Tommy,” Mia said, confusing everyone.

 

“Tommy found out about Oliver being The Hood a few months before The Undertaking,” Arsenal clarified.

 

“I take it he didn’t react well,” Quinin noted and Mia scoffed.

 

“That’s an understatement. He called dad nothing more than a murderer,” Mia said angrily and Arsenal shot her a look that had her shutting up.

 

“After Tommy’s death, Oliver felt that anyone he killed dishonored Tommy’s memory. So he came back and decided he wouldn’t kill anyone anymore. That’s why he left Slade alive,” Arsenal said, although privately he felt that Oliver just couldn’t bring himself to kill Slade.

 

Thea grumbled but didn’t say anything as the recording continued.

 

**Oliver counters maybe this is why he didn’t as he hands Slade a flash drive with all the Intel he’d been able to gather on Slade’s son. A disbelieving Slade asks him if he’s offering to help him find his son. Oliver says he wants them to find both of their sons before he walks over to the duffle bag and pulls out Slade’s helmet. Slade seems afraid as Oliver brings it over before handed it to him. Slade stared down at it with a mix of emotions before saying it was like ‘old times’.**

**Outside, Nyssa and Malcolm are unloading the gear as they bicker about the past. Oliver walks up to them, flanked by Slade, now dressed in his armor, and Digger Harkness, inquiring about the gear. Malcolm tells them they’ve offloaded most of, inquiring why Oliver needs an RPG. Oliver makes it clear he has no intention of this being a fair fight. Nyssa inquires about Digger and Slade, to which Digger gives her an appreciative look, which makes Nyssa almost slit his throat.**

“What’s this guy’s story?” Quentin inquired.

 

“Digger Harkness, former ASIS. He was recruited by Argus, went rogue a few years back, tried to kill Diggle’s wife. Oliver and a friend managed to take him down,” Arsenal explained.

 

“Ollie is gathering up every ally he can get,” Laurel noted.

 

“Except me apparently,” Roy noted.1

 

**Oliver pulls Nyssa and Harkness apart before they hear a sound. They look up to see a RPG flying towards them. It hits the plane, taking it and their gear out.**

“Shit,” Quentin said.

 

“It appears Chase anticipated Oliver’s plan,” Moira frowned.

 

“And now not only do they have no gear, they have no ride home either,” Laurel said uneasily.

 

**The recording flashes back five years ago. Kovar is being led into the section of the prison where Oliver’s cell was, having been alerted to the gunshot. But, rather than finding Oliver’s dead body, they find an empty cell except for the gun. Kovar demands Oliver be found but that no one can kill Oliver except him.**

“Big mistake,” Mia said and the time travelers looked at her confused. “No one knows that island better than dad. They’re fighting on his turf, which gives him the home court advantage.”

 

**Oliver is running up the mountains and into the forest, finding a crate with his gear. Remembering he only has a few hours left, Oliver begins opening up the crate when some of Kovar’s men come up behind him, guns aimed at his back.**

“Home court advantage huh?” Thea asked as she glared at her niece.

 

“You do remember he lived through this, right?” Mia asked dryly and Thea blushed.

 

**Back in the present, Oliver leads the group through the mountains. The RPG came from one area while William’s video message came from another. Malcolm and Nyssa got to check the RPG site while Oliver, Slade, and Harkness go to check out where William’s message came from.**

**As they walk, Harkness whines about Slade getting a sword while he is left defenseless. Oliver makes it very clear that the only reason he is out of his cell is to help him stop Chase. He messes with Oliver just a tiny bit and he’ll find himself right back where he started. Slade calls them over, seeing movement. Through the trees, they see four people in cages. Carefully, they move out. As they reach the cages, they see Thea, Felicity, Curtis, and Samantha are in the cages, appearing unharmed for the most part.**

“Oh thank god,” Moira said as she and Roy visibly relax at this.

 

Laurel, however, is far from relaxed. Her father is not in the cages, which means he is far from safe.

 

Quentin, knowing what his daughter is thinking, grabs her hand, squeezing it to let her know he is here.

 

**Oliver ignores Thea and Felicity, walking over to Samantha to ask about William. She tells him they were separated as Slade wonders why they’re unguarded. Talia and Evelyn then jump down from the trees, aiming their weapons at Slade and Oliver as Harkness says it’s a trap. Harkness then pulls out a gun and points it at Slade’s head, revealing he is with Chase.**

“That son of a bitch,” Roy sneered as they all glared at the screen.

 

“Oliver’s instincts were right about him, it seems,” Moira said angrily.

 

**Evelyn says Chase thought it would be pointless to reach out to Slade, but Talia wonders if he’s changed his mind now. Harkness asks what Slade’s choice is as, after a moment, Slade tells them to put a gun to Oliver’s head.**

“That bastard!” Thea roared.

 

“I thought you said it was the Mirakuru that made him a monster!” Laurel snapped as she whirled on Arsenal.

 

“Just keep watching,” Arsenal said vaguely.

 

**Slade tells Oliver ‘there’s no giving up to these guys’ as Evelyn walks over. Oliver puts his bow on the ground as Evelyn pus her gun at Oliver’s head smugly. Talia and Harkness relax, thinking they’ve won until Slade suddenly slugs Harkness hard enough to send him to the ground. Evelyn is distracted by this and Oliver grabs her arm, throwing her to the ground and disarming her. Talia fires at Samantha but Oliver pulls a flechette out from under his sleeve, throwing it at Talia’s arrow, deflecting it. Harkness sends a barrage of punches to Slade’s armor but Slade is unaffected, throwing him to the ground. Harkness stands up as Oliver picks up his bow. Nyssa and Malcolm rush in and, realizing they are outnumbered, Talia throws a ball to the ground. It explodes in a blast of smoke and, when it clears, she and Harkness are gone.**

“So Slade was only pretending?” Roy asked.

 

“No giving up to these guys. It’s one of the first things Slade said to Oliver when they first met,” Arsenal said. “Oliver knew he was still on his side then.”

 

“A little warning would have been nice. My heart can’t take the stress,” Quentin said and Rene and Arsenal winced.

 

“Get a pacemaker,” Mia said and it was hard to tell if she was being serious or joking. “Because it’s not going to get any easier from here Grandpa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Honestly, it baffles me how Roy was neither a hostage of Chase or part of the team Oliver assembled. If Chase and Talia were keeping such good tabs on Oliver, shouldn’t they have known Roy was alive? SO why didn’t they kidnap Roy to? Then again, I also thought it was weird Lyla and JJ weren’t kidnapped either. And why was Roy not the first person Oliver called when he started to assemble this team? It doesn’t make any sense when you think about it.


	9. Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More secrets come out as the second recording continues.

**The recording flashes back five years. Oliver is being held at gun point by Kovar’s men.  Oliver gets on the ground as ordered before shoving them. Oliver pulls out a knife and easily kills them before picking up one of their guns. He jumps out in front of more of Kovar’s men before opening fire, killing them as well.**

Laurel, Thea, Moira and even Quentin are a little uneasy with how easy it is for Oliver to kill. Something Arsenal noticed.

 

 “He lived five years in a kill or be killed environment. Like any soldier, he did what he had to in order to survive,” Arsenal explained.

 

“But Ollie’s not a soldier,” Thea said confused.

 

“Yeah, he is. He may not have fought in a war against a country, but he did go to war,” Rene said wisely.

**Elsewhere on the island, Kovar and one of his men are listening to this. Kovar’s man is in disbelief as Kovar starts to walk off, declaring he will end this.**

**Back in the present, Malcolm opens Thea’s cage, inquiring about her wellbeing. But Thea simply sneers at him as she gets out.**

“Atta girl,” Quentin said with a hint of pride that was almost fatherly as Thea flushed slightly.

 

**Slade puts Evelyn in the cage as Oliver inquires about the others. Felicity asks about Slade but Oliver’s focus is on finding William and the others. Oliver and Malcolm attempt to extract information from Evelyn, but she’s not talking if she knows anything. Oliver orders Malcolm to take Thea, Curtis, Samantha, and Felicity to the plane Chase used to bring them here and leave before coming back for them.**

“Depending on if Merlyn will keep his word once Thea is safe,” Quentin noted.

 

“I’d say it would have been fifty/fifty if things had gone to plan,” Mia said and the time travelers looked over at her.

 

“I take it things didn’t go to plan?” Laurel asked wearily.

 

“That’s an understatement,” Rene muttered.

 

**Oliver promises to come back for Evelyn before Thea walks up to him, asking to talk. They walk off away from the others when she starts berating him for working with Malcolm and Slade. He points out what he is up against and so she demands to know why he’s sending Curtis and her away. Oliver tells her that he needs her and Curtis to get Samantha and Felicity off the island and she counters that Curtis could handle it.**

“I’m not so sure about that,” Rene said doubtfully. “Curtis is my pal, but his combat skills…weren’t the best.”1

 

**Oliver tells her he needs her help and this is how Thea helps him. Reluctantly, Thea agrees and they rejoin the others. Nyssa says she has picked up Talia and Harkness’ trail, which Slade theorizes might lead them to the others. Felicity sneers they don’t need his help but Slade only has a dry quip for her. Oliver gives Curtis comms and Felicity a tablet with a digital map of the island, just in case. Felicity kisses Oliver, to his surprise, because she doesn’t want to have any regrets. Oliver tells them to keep each other safe before they split up.**

**Elsewhere on the island, Black Siren is leading Diggle and Quentin down a flight of stairs, explaining that island was once a holy retreat. When Diggle makes a barbed remark, Black Siren points out she doesn’t owe Oliver anything whereas Chase freed her.**

“She’s got a point,” Mia shrugged at the look Rene shot her. “Hey, Allen locked her up in a pipeline when he easily could have handed her over to Argus. Felicity couldn’t keep her emotions in check after Chase killed her boyfriend and ruined any chance dad had of reaching her while convincing him he was stupid to even try. Again, they locked her up in a box without even trying to see if there something deeper going on. The only one who tried to see if there something deeper underneath was Grandpa. The rest of you treated her like an unredeemable monster, so she became one.”2

 

**Black Siren leads them into a room where Rene and Dinah are chained to the floor. Diggle and Quentin are chained up as well before Black Siren and Talia’s students leave. Dinah points out the sonic dampener, which is nullifying her powers.**

“What’s with the sonic dampener and what is it for?” Laurel asked confused.

 

“You’ve heard about Star Labs particle Accelerator?” Arsenal asked and the time travelers, confused, nodded. “Well, when it gets turned on, it will explode, releasing dark matter into the atmosphere. This causes certain people to develop abilities. Some can run faster than sound, some can see the future. And some, like Dinah and Black Siren, have a scream that can shatter your bones.”

 

“When did our lives became a science fiction movie?” Quentin wondered after a moment.

 

“The moment a guy named Barry Allen walked into your lives,” Arsenal said, to their confusion. “You’ll meet him soon.”

**Diggle is confident that Oliver will get them out of this but Quentin is skeptical that Oliver even knows where they are.**

**Elsewhere on the island, Nyssa is leading Slade and Oliver through the forest when she loses the trail. Nyssa goes on ahead to pick up the trail, leaving Oliver and Slade alone. Slade mentions Oliver and Nyssa’s marriage and Oliver sighs that Nyssa talks too much. Slade inquires about Chase and Oliver simply says his past has come back to haunt him. Slade notes that it happens a lot and Oliver admits he doesn’t understand why. Slade points out its because Oliver suffers from survivor’s guilt, unable to get over the death of his father. Oliver says Chase has nothing to do with his father but Slade points out everything has to do with his father for Oliver.**

“He’s not wrong,” Mia noted.

 

“Slade knew Oliver probably better than anymore, maybe even better than Oliver knew himself. It’s what made him such a dangerous enemy for Oliver. The only people who come close to understanding Oliver that well are Sara…and you Laurel,” Arsenal said as he looked over at Laurel. 

**Slade tells Oliver he needs to forgive himself for Robert’s suicide, as well as everything else that has gone wrong since.**

“Wait, what?” Thea asked shocked. “I thought he said that dad died on the Gambit!”

 

“He lied sweetheart,” Moira said gently as Thea looked over at her. “He only told me the truth the night of The Undertaking. It’s also when I figured out the truth about your brother.”

 

“When the Gambit went down, Robert and the first mate, David Hackett, made it to a life boat. They pulled Oliver inside,” Arsenal began gently as they all looked over at him. “They drifted for days, only enough food and water for one person, maybe. Then, Robert pulled out a gun, shot Hackett, and told Oliver to survive before turning the gun on himself.”

 

Thea put a hand to her mouth, trying to breathe normally so as not to break down. Moira put a hand on her back, trying to offer as much comfort as she could in that moment. Quentin lowered his hand while Laurel put a hand to her mouth, finding herself similarly affected. After a few moments, Thea nodded.

 

“I’m okay,” Thea said with a shaky breath. “I’m okay.”

 

Arsenal eyed her for a moment before nodding at Mia. She pressed button and the recording continued.

 

**Slade tells Oliver forgiving himself is the hardest thing in the world as Nyssa returns, having picked up the trail again.**

**Elsewhere on the island, as Curtis leads them back to the plane, Samantha tells Felicity she’s not going to leave William behind.**

“And what exactly is she going to do?” Quentin asked in disbelief.

 

“Samantha’s not stupid, she must know she can’t do anything,” Laurel said, remembering how intelligent Samantha was from college.

 

“It’s almost like someone intentionally made Samantha reckless for some reason,” Moira said, remembering the intelligent young woman her PI had looked up when she Oliver had confessed to her.3

 

**Felicity tells her she wasn’t in favor of Oliver’s decision, not that she was consulted.**

“I’m sorry, she thinks she should have been consulted?” Quentin said in disbelief.

 

“Well, they were engaged at that point,” Rene pointed out.

 

“Had she even met William?” Laurel asked and got a headshake from Arsenal. “What makes her arrogant and narcissistic enough to think she has a right to an input in the future of a child she has never even met?”4

 

“I wish I knew, but sometimes, figuring out Felicity gives you whiplash,” Arsenal muttered.

 

**As Felicity and Samantha talk about Oliver, Malcolm tries to get Thea to talk to him. Thea snaps at him before they hear a click and Thea froze. The others stop and look at Thea as a grim Malcolm says she’s activated a landmine.**

“That place has landmines?” Laurel asked pale as a horrified Moira pulled a pale Thea into her arms.

 

“Left over from World War Two,” Arsenal said grimly.

 

“Of course they are. Because what would the worst place on earth be without landmines!” Roy growled, panicking as he looked over at Thea worriedly. 

 

**Malcolm discovers the trigger is rusted over, meaning they can’t disarm it. Malcolm tells Thea to get off the mine and he will take her place. The others find this insane and Thea tells them no one is taking her place. Malcolm seems to relent, standing up. Then, he tackles her, sending Thea off the mine. Thea bumps into Curtis as they all stare at Malcolm, who is now on the mine.**

“…I did not see that coming,” Quentin said as they all stared at the screen.

**Malcolm tells them to go on without him and he’ll disarm the mine, but Thea quickly sees through the lie. Malcolm tells her that, although she may not see him as her father, she will also be his daughter. One of Harkness’ boomerangs hits the tree and Malcolm barks at them to go. The others run off as Harkness and some of Talia’s students burst onto the scene. They pause as they see Malcolm, who smirks.**

**In the distance, the others stop as they hear the explosion of the mine.**

“I really was not expecting that,” Quentin said as Thea stared, stunned at how far Malcolm was willing to go for her.

 

“Don’t get sentimental about him,” Arsenal said as Thea looked over at him. “He may have saved you that one time, but he also drugged you, forced you to kill someone, a lot of someone’s actually, and refused to hand over the League to Nyssa when he knew she had a way to save your life. One good deed doesn’t make up for decades of being a self serving monster.”5

 

**Elsewhere on the island, Oliver and Slade are led through the forest by Nyssa, stopping as they see the fuselage that they had stayed in for the first two years on the island. They briefly reminisce of simpler times before Nyssa hands over some binoculars, realizing where Chase has brought the others. Oliver looks through them to see, in the distance, a building that resembled a castle.**

 

**The recording flashes back five years ago. Two of Kovar’s men are searching for Oliver when they see a rifle standing up. One of the men walks over and starts to move it, causing a log with spikes on it to come down. He cries out as it impales him as Oliver jumps out, snaps the other man’s neck, and grabs his gun.**

“Shit,” Quentin said as the time travelers stared in shock at Oliver’s brutality.

 

**Oliver begins walking through the forest before a chopper comes down, opening fire on him.**

**Back in the present, Oliver, Nyssa, and Slade have made it to the building and are inside. Slade suggests they split up and, after some encouragement from Oliver, Nyssa walks off. Slade notes Nyssa doesn’t trust him, to which Oliver points out not without good reason. Slade acknowledges his point before slugging Oliver, seeming to knock him out as Black Siren and several of Talia’s students round the corner. Black Siren looks down at Oliver before smirking.**

“You said he was on Ollie’s side!” Laurel exclaimed as they all turned to glare at Arsenal.

 

“Just keep watching. Not everything is as it seems,” Arsenal said tiredly.

 

Skeptical, but curious, and knowing they had no other choice, the time travelers turned to watch as the recording continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: I’ll be honest; I find Thea’s suggestion that Curtis could handle getting Samantha and Felicity off the island laughable. Curtis’ technical abilities are, without a doubt, with few equals. But his combat skills leave a quite bit to be desired. 
> 
> 2: Honestly, I’ve noticed that there is a pattern of Black Siren getting locked up and treated as a monster by morally gray heroes who do not look any deeper. Only an idiot doesn’t try to understand the motivation of their enemy, so both Team Flash and Team Arrow are idiots when it comes to Black Siren. The only person who tried to understand her was Quentin, which is why it probably took so long for Black Siren to come around to the right side of things.
> 
> 3: Samantha’s recklessness was so completely OOC from the character we saw in season two and four, where she seems completely rational and fairly intelligent. But that was probably just to kill Samantha off so the writers could make William an Olicity kid. Honestly, why any actress wants to be on Arrow is beyond me, because nearly every female character gets treated like shit. 
> 
> 4: Honestly, the William situation from season four just makes Felicity come off as selfish, immature, entitled, and somewhat narcissistic. But really, anyone who thinks Felicity is right to be mad that Oliver did not consult Felicity about sending William away has clearly poured bleach in their eyes. She hasn’t even met William at that point, yet she thinks she has a right to a voice in his future before the wedding bells have even rung? Are you serious? Pretty much every single mother I have ever met would give Felicity a smack down over that behavior.
> 
> Felicity wants to get mad at Oliver for not telling her about William? Fine. She wants to stay mad when it is made clear Oliver was all but blackmailed into it? Pretty immature but still not that bad. Getting mad that Oliver does not consult her over William’s future? Are you for real?
> 
> 5: Malcolm’s death scene in this episode is stupid. The scene itself is fine, but come on; the serial redemption of Malcolm has gotten so beyond old at this point. And he still kept doing horrible thing. Nearly every horrible thing that happened in Arrow is a result, either directly or indirectly, of Malcolm’s actions. Just please, stop Arrow.


	10. Dueling armies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More secrets about the past and future are revealed as Oliver and Chase finally face off.

**Oliver is led into the cell with the others by Black Siren and some of Talia’s students. As the others express shock upon seeing him, Black Siren reveals it was Slade who caught him as the man in question entered. Oliver sneers he should never have trusted Slade but Slade doesn’t respond, simply leaving with Black Siren and Talia’s students. Oliver demands to know where William is, becoming frustrated when the others say they haven’t seen him.**

Thea frowned, worry for her nephew clutching at her heart. She may have never met him, but he was her family. More than that, he was an innocent child whose only crime was being Oliver’s son.

 

Moira was having similar thoughts on the matter, as well as wondering what Chase had done with her grandson.

 

**The recording flashes back five years earlier. Oliver runs, dodging the barrage of bullets from the chopper before taking cover behind a log. Oliver then returns fire, hitting the chopper’s tail. This causes the pilot to lose control and the chopper crashes several feet away from Oliver, exploding.**

So not only was Oliver a skilled archer, but a skilled snipper as well, Quentin mused. It took skill to land that kind of hit. Oliver obviously knew what he was doing.

 

**Back in the present, Thea is attempting to reconcile her feelings on Malcolm’s death, remembering all the terrible things he did to her. Felicity then brings up her own experiences with her father, pointing out how he ‘abandoned’ her but still took a bullet for her.**

Arsenal frowned. He knew enough to know that Felicity had just lied to Thea. But, considering it was to help Thea, he really wasn’t going to fault her there.1

 

**Curtis rushes over, making a Fantasy Island reference to let them know they found the plane. The group walks over to the plane, where Curtis walks off after seeing something.**

Moira visibly relaxes, relieved that at least one of her children is getting away from that hellish island. However, Quentin frowned, wondering what it was that Curtis saw. His Detective instincts were screaming at him, telling him that something was about to go horribly wrong.

**As Felicity and Samantha discussed who would fly the plane, Thea made an exclamation of horror. Samantha and Felicity walked over and saw Curtis digging up Antennas, linked to C4. Curtis points out there has to be more than one and Felicity uses her tablet to bring up the map of the island, revealing the explosives are all over the island.**

“Son of a bitch,” Quentin said as the time travelers stared in shock. “I hate it when I’m right.”

 

“Chase put explosives all over the island?! Just how crazy is he?!” Thea exclaimed in shock.

 

“Making Oliver suffer is the only thing that matters to him. Not even his own life means anything to him in that regard. If it will make Oliver suffer, he’ll gladly slit his own throat,” Arsenal said grimly.

 

“He’s a madman,” Moira said horrified.

 

“That’s an understatement Grandma,” Mia said.

 

**Back with the others, Oliver pulls out Curtis’ device and gives it to Dinah. Rene tells Dinah to ‘sing Canary’. Quentin corrects him, calling her Black Canary.**

“Black Canary?” Laurel asked confused.

 

“That was your mantle,” Arsenal said, to their shock. “You were part of Oliver’s team, you went by Black Canary. On your death bed, you told Oliver to find someone to carry on your legacy, to find another Black Canary. It’s why Oliver recruited Dinah.”

 

**Dinah used her Canary Cry, breaking the chains.**

**The sound alerted Talia and her students that Oliver had played them. However, as they turned around, they found Nyssa blocking their path.**

“Sister against sister. Pretty ironic,” Mia noted.

 

“They’re sisters only in name. Whatever bond they may have had was broken when Talia left Nyssa to suffer with Ra’s,” Arsenal noted.

 

**Talia calls Nyssa a fool for giving up the position of Ra’s. Nyssa coldly points out it was Talia’s selfishness that forced her to grow up alone. Talia remorselessly say she had to forge her own path, as Ra’s would never make her his successor. Nyssa angrily says that Talia knew she would suffer at Ra’s hands. Talia inquires on whether Nyssa wishes to settle the score now. The sisters take several steps away from each other, preparing for battle. Talia says Ra’s would be ashamed of Nyssa for siding with Oliver, but Nyssa, unaffected, says Ra’s was always ashamed of her.**

**The two then rushed each other, exchanging blows with swords. At first, they appear evenly matched, but Nyssa lands a blow on Talia’s face and then knocks her off her feet with a kick to Talia’s knees. Talia’s students move to intervene, but Slade jumps down, easily taking care of them.**

“So now he’s on their side again?” Laurel asked confused.

 

“You’ll see in a minute,” Arsenal said tiredly.

 

**Nyssa puts her blade to Talia’s chin, lifting her head up. Talia eggs her on, trying to goad Nyssa into killing her. But Nyssa ultimately decides not to, punching Talia and knocking her out.**

“Not sure it’s wise, leaving her alive,” Quentin sad uneasily.

 

“Maybe, but no one should have the blood of family on their hands,” Arsenal said wisely.2

 

**Nyssa tells Slade he’s late, but he says they’re not as the others round the corner. Slade’s ‘betrayal’ had simply been a ruse so Oliver could get Curtis’ device to Dinah.**

“Like I told you, the Slade for your time may still be a homicidal lunatic, but the Slade in these recordings is the good man who Oliver met all those years ago,” Arsenal told the time travelers.

 

**Oliver asks about William, but Slade regretfully says William isn’t there. Determined to find his son, Oliver orders them to move. After finding Oliver’s gear, they move out. Oliver thinks if they find Chase, they find William. However, a door opens up and Chase walks out with Black Siren and several of Talia’s students. William is not with them.**

“Well, there goes that idea,” Quentin muttered.

 

**Oliver demands to know where William is but Adrian just continues to taunt him. If you want your son back, you know what you have to do, Adrian taunts him. Oliver vows he will never kill Adrian no matter what he does. Adrian disagrees, rushing Oliver with his sword. Oliver dodged the two sides begin to fight.**

**Five years earlier, Oliver walks up to the chopper, finding Kovar, injured, pulling himself out of the wreckage of the chopper. Oliver tries to open fire but the rifle is out of ammo. Kovar reveals he knows about Oliver and Anatoly’s plan. He doesn’t have to kill Oliver; he just has to make sure Oliver never makes it to the boat.**

“The rescue, it was staged?” Laurel asked shocked, as were the rest of the time travelers..

 

“People would wonder where he’s been if he just showed up in Starling City. There were less questions if Oliver was simply found on Lian Yu. An ally of Oliver’s helped him arrange everything,” Aresenal explained.

 

“Nothing’s ever simple with him, is it?” Roy asked dryly.

 

“Nope,” Rene said simply.

 

**Kovar pulled out a gun and opened fire on Oliver. Oliver managed to knock the gun out of his hand and the two began to fight hand to hand.**

**Back in the present, as their allies fight, Black Siren and Dinah exchange blows. They two unleash their cries at each other and the resulting sonic explosion sends them both flying back. Dinah is sent flying into a cabinet, becoming trapped there while Black Siren lands on her back. Black Siren goes over, intending to kill her with a scream but Quentin walks over, knocking her out with a blow to the head from a stick.**

“Kind of ironic,” Mia said and they all looked over at her. “Grandpa protects her when, a year later, he’s the one who needs protecting from her.”

 

“What?” Quentin asked confused as they all looked over at her.

 

“Five months after this, Oliver’s identity was leaked to the public, there was a trial. The FBI agent in charge, Samantha Watson, she blackmailed me, made me agree to testify,” Rene said with shame on his face. “Told me I’d never get my daughter back if I didn’t cooperate. Looking back, she was extorting me. I could’ve gone to Oliver, gotten the case dismissed with that. But at the time-”

 

“You wanted your daughter back. And you would’ve done anything to make that happen,” Quentin said with understanding and Rene nodded.

 

“When they found out someone on the team was betraying them, Oliver Diggle, and Felicity put me, Curtis, and Dinah under surveillance,” Rene explained. “We knew the reason, but we felt betrayed, so we left the team, formed our own. Black Siren was working with the enemies we were all trying to take down. She killed Dinah’s old boyfriend, Vincent Sobel because he betrayed them. Dinah became obsessed with vengeance, nearly letting Star City burn in order to get it. Quentin got in the way, so she beat the crap out of him.”

 

“I think I’m gonna have to take with Ollie about his recruitment,” Laurel said darkly, knowing Dinah Drake was not someone she would have wanted to take her place.3

 

**Back at the plane, Curtis is trying to raise the Comms as Felicity is trying to locate the trigger, all she can do with the tablet.**

**Back at the Monastery, as their teams fight below, Oliver and Chase fight on the altar. Oliver knocks Chase’s sword out of his hand and Chase taunts him before Oliver angrily slugs him.**

**Five years earlier, Oliver cried out as Kovar forces Oliver’s back against the fire, burning his back. Kovar lets him go and mocks him about his hood.**

**Back in the present, Oliver demands William’s location, slugging Chase twice more, knocking him over the ledge before jumping after him.**

**Five years earlier, Oliver and Kovar continue to exchange blows before Oliver throws Kovar to the ground. Oliver taunts Kovar before getting down, putting him in a neck lock.**

**Back in the present, Oliver has Chase in a neck lock, demanding to know where William is. But Chase refuses unless Oliver kills him.**

**Five years earlier, Oliver’s stop watch goes off. Kovar taunts Oliver about being trapped on Lian Yu and an angry Oliver breaks his neck before dropping him, walking off.**

**Back in the present, the fighting is dying down, Oliver’s team emerging victorious. Chase taunts Oliver, telling him he’ll only tell Oliver where William if he shows everyone, even himself, who ‘you really are’.**

**But Oliver refuses; releasing Adrian and standing up, having grabbed Adrian’s pistol he had on him. Oliver removes the bullets as he glanced over at Adrian, telling him that he is not the man he thinks he is. Adrian can blame Oliver for his father’s death for the rest of his life, Oliver tells him, he is done blaming himself for his father’s death.**

Moira smiled, proud of her son and glad he would no longer punish himself for Robert’s choices.

 

**However, Adrian has one last card: He tells Oliver William is dead.**

The time travelers froze, horror washing over them. Thea put a hand to her mouty, horror on her face, not even feeling Moira’s nails digging into her. Quentin remembered the loss of Sara and felt a mixture of empathy for Oliver and rage at Chase. Laurel simply mourned the loss of a child, as did Roy.

 

Even though he knew William was still alive, Rene winced, remembering Zoe’s death. Mia simply remembering her brother’s fate sadly.

 

 **Oliver does not believe him, rightfully suspecting that Adrian is trying to manipulate him into killing him. But even if Chase killed his son, he still won’t be the man Adrian wants him to be, Oliver says as he grabs Adrian’s head roughly before letting go.**   

 

**Oliver then gets a call from Felicity. Chase has linked all the explosives to a Deadman switch. Chase dies, they all go off. He wants Oliver to kill him so it kills everyone on the island.**

“That son of a bitch,” Quentin said as the time travelers all stared in shock.

 

“This guy really is insane,” Roy said in disbelief.

 

“What was your first clue?” Mia said sarcastically.

 

“Like I said, his own life means nothing in pursuit of his goal to convince Oliver he destroys the life of everyone he touches,” Arsenal said grimly.

 

**Chase stands up and takes off his jacket. Balling it up, he throws it to the ground as everyone takes cover. There is an explosion of sparks and when everyone lifts their heads, Chase is gone.  Oliver orders everyone to get to the plane, telling them what Chase has done. Oliver is going after his son. Quentin asks what if Chase is telling the truth. Oliver doesn’t believe him, or rather won’t. But either way, Chase is not leaving, Oliver says before taking off after Adrian.**

“Chase is certainly crazy enough to kill William,” Laurel said uneasily.

 

“Oliver won’t believe it until he sees the body,” Quentin said, understanding. “He can’t believe it until that moment.”

 

“Is William really…” Thea trailed off, unable to say it.

 

“No, Oliver was right, Chase just wanted Oliver to kill him,” Arsenal said, to their relief.

 

“Buckle up kids, because it’s not over yet,” Mia said, to their confusion. “In some ways, it’s just beginning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: Behind the scenes, this is probably an inconstancy, maybe a recon. But in the show, Felicity appears to be lying, since she knows Noah did not abandon her, but Donna basically kidnapped her and lied to her her whole life. Which is probably the cause of Felicity’s emotional issues throughout the show, just saying. 
> 
> 2: There has been a lot of debate on whether or not Nyssa should have killed Talia or not. Personally, I’m okay with it. I don’t think Nyssa should have the blood of a sister on her hands. Plus, if she had, we never would have gotten Talia in season seven, who was so much better than she was in season five. 
> 
> 3: My feelings on Dinah Drake are, to be honest, mixed. I liked her in season five, even though I thought she was basically appeasement to sooth the rage of killing off Laurel in such a disrespectful manner. Then, in season six, she was written as a villain who was obsessed with vengeance while somehow operating under the delusion that her mass murderer boyfriend was an innocent victim and she was somehow better than Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. In season seven, I found her annoying but warmed up to her in 7x08 but 7x18 made her annoying again. In short, Dinah Drake is a character that I put in the same category as Diggle and Felicity, a character I probably won’t write unless I have to. 
> 
> So, next chapter will be our last viewing chapter, then e will get, at most, three more chapters to set up the sequel to this that I plan to write at some point down the line.


	11. The end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The recording concludes with an ending that leaves the time travelers stunned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s been a bit since my last update but, honestly, I haven’t been very motivated to write Arrow or anything that features Oliver in a main role recently. Basically, the season finale of Arrow, like I know it did a lot of others, ruined the show for me and made it pretty pointless. I haven’t seen a season finale make a show this pointless since Merlin season five.
> 
> Anyway, I needed some time to process this emotionally, to mourn what was once one of my favorite shows. I have done that more or less, but I’m going to ease myself back into writing Arrow by, for the moment, focusing on my Flash stories and crossovers that don’t focus heavily on Oliver. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

**Oliver was racing through the forest, picking up Chase’s trail and following after him as fast as he could.**

**Five years earlier, Oliver opens his crate, putting on the jacket with the hood before rubbing some dirt and grime on his arms to give the appearance that he had bene there for a long time. Oliver then put on a wig, pulled the hood up, and ran off.**

“A wig? Are you serious?” Roy asked dumbfounded as the time travelers all stared at the holographic screen in disbelief.

 

“How did that not get included the medical report?” Moira wondered.

 

“Doctor patient confidentiality,” Laurel pointed out.

 

“Still, when I caught him, I interviewed Doctor Lamb, he didn’t say anything, neither did any of the other doctors who treated Oliver when he was brought to starling General,” Quentin said in confusion.

 

“Doctor Lamb saw what no one else could: That Oliver was helping people, even if his methods were a bit brutal. He convinced the other doctors and nurses who saw Oliver not to say anything,” Arsenal explained, noting how fortunate it was that the Queens had such a good relationship with Dr. Lamb.1

 

**Back in the present, Oliver follows Chase’s trail to the docks. Chase is at the helm of a boat, smirking at Oliver before it begins to drive off. Filled with determination, Oliver runs across the docks and jumps onto the boat. He tackles Adrian against the rail, demanding to know were William is as he punches him.**

**Five years earlier, Oliver rushed up the side of a mountain as he sees the boat in the distance. Oliver fires a flaming arrow at the mass on the beach. This causes an explosion that alerts the fishermen. They come upon the beach, where they see Oliver as he takes off his hood.**

**Back in the present, Oliver continues to demand William’s location before throwing Chase into the wheel, stopping the boat. Chase taunts Oliver about the island exploding but Oliver has faith in his team. Chase then taunts him about his plane, causing Oliver to have doubts.**

“Chase, he knew Oliver would find them and he knew Oliver would try to get us off the island,” Quentin realized with dread and Rene nodded grimly.

 

“Chase was crazy, but not stupid,” Rene said grimly.

 

**Back on the island, Diggle is unable to start the plane. Nyssa found a crucial part missing and damaged on the ground, which Curtis can’t repair.**

“That bastard,” Laurel hissed as they all tensed.

 

**Felicity contacts Oliver, explaining the situation. He orders her to a bunker, telling her Slade will show her where.**

Rene, still bitter, scoffed, which drew the attention of the time travelers.

 

“I take it Slade didn’t know where it was?” Quentin asked.

 

“Oh, he knew where it was. He just thought he’d have a better chance going alone than helping us,” Rene said to their shock.

 

“So, even without the Mirakuru he was an ass,” Thea said angrily.

 

“In Slade’s defense, his loyalty was to dad, no one else. Plus, can any of you say you wouldn’t have left him behind in his position?” Mia pointed out and none of them could give a response, at least not one they felt comfortable sharing. 2

 

**Chase then gets up and pulls William out from the engine room, using the boy as a human shield as Oliver notched an arrow.**

Moira and Thea froze as they caught their first true glimpse of their relative. He had dark hair and eyes like Samantha, but in his face, he looked so much like Oliver at that age, Moira noted as she remembered her son’s childhood fondly. Thea just noted sadly that William looked so frightened.

 

Meanwhile, Mia simply looked sadly at her brother’s younger self, wishing things had turned out differently for William.

 

**Chase taunts Oliver about his earlier claim about not killing him. Chase then gives Oliver two options: Kill Chase, killing everyone he loves except William or stand down, saving those on the island but Chase will kill William. Either way, Chase will be proved right.**

“That bastard,” Quentin snarled as everyone else stared at the screen in a mix of horror and hate. “If I ever find him…”

 

“Simon Morrison,” Rene said and they all looked over at him in confusion. “That’s his real name. He hacked all evidence of himself offline and created the Adrian Chase alias. Do with that as you will Hoss.”

 

**Oliver seems to lower his bow, then he lets go of the draw string. The arrow flies into Chase’s foot, causing him to let William go. William runs into the safety of his father’s arms as Oliver snarls at Chase to not even look at William.**

“Oh thank heavens,” Moira sighed in relief that William was safe as the other time travelers relaxed.

 

None of them noticed the grim looks on Arsenal, Rene, and Mia’s faces, knowing what was coming.

 

**Five years earlier, Oliver calls Queen Mansion from the boat. Moira answers the phone and Oliver tells her who he is. Moira, believing it to be someone plsying a cruel trick, shakily almost hangs up but Oliver speaks up, pleading for her not to hang up. Something in his voice seems to convince her it is him and she pauses, beginning to break down as she realizes it’s her son.**

Tears fall down Moira’s face as she remembered that moment. At first, she thought it had been someone’s idea of a sick joke. But, as she heard his voice…she knew. She knew her son had come back to her.

 

**Moira emotionally asks about Robert and Oliver regretfully informs her that he and Sara did not survive. The two talk, emotionally saying they love each other.**

Thea took her mother’s hand, tears streaming down her own face as she thought of how horribly she had treated her brother when he’d come back. She would make it up to him when they returned, she decided.

 

Laurel had similar thoughts, remembering how she’d treated Oliver when he returned. He had said he’d deserved it but in truth, he didn’t. Whatever he’d done, he’d suffered a thousand times over what he deserved.

 

Quentin had similar thoughts to his daughter, feeling a great deal of shame at how he’d acted towards Oliver. And essentially, it had been for nothing since Sara was alive this whole time. 

**Back in the present, Oliver becomes confused as Adrian begins talking about how Oliver and William have each other before he pulls out a gun. Oliver cries out but Chase pulls the trigger, killing himself. Oliver can do nothing but cover William’s eyes as the island explodes behind them.**

The time travelers stared, shock and horror on their faces as the screen faded.

 

“Well come on, play the next on,” Roy said urgently as he glanced at his pale girlfriend.

 

“We can’t,” Mia said and they all stared at her. “We told you that the machine was damaged. The rest of what we have is all fragmented.”

 

“You can’t just leave it like that! You have to us what happened!” Laurel asked as she gripped her father’s hand tightly.

 

“There really wasn’t a lot of fallout,” Rene mused and they all stared. “Samantha died because she got caught in the explosion. Thea was in a coma for the next seven months but made a full recovery. Diggle got really bad nerve damage in one hand but a little cybernetic help and he was as good as new.”

 

“…seriously?” Roy asked in disbelief.

 

“Seriously,” Mia confirmed.

 

“That is…unbelievable. I mean, I’m glad I didn’t die or anything, but it’s like some cosmic force shielded us for some reason,” Quentin mused in complete astonishment.3

 

“Well, it’s late,” Arsenal said as he checked his watch. “We’ll show you to some rooms for you to sleep in, and then we’ll have breakfast. We’ll tell you some things you need to know and then we’ll send you home. I think we could all use a good night’s sleep.”

 

No one could argue, suddenly feeling how tired they were. They all stood up, the future trio leading the time travelers out of the viewing room and towards their rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1: I’ll be honest, the wig itself didn’t bother me much in the episode, but in the context of season one, it’s pretty stupid. The doctors are obviously going to notice that Oliver is wearing a wig, which is certainly going to raise an eyebrow or two. And even if you can argue that it won’t be mentioned due to doctor-patient confidentially, I’m pretty sure that gets waved if you are considered a danger to yourself or others. Which means the doctors or nurses who treated Oliver would tell the SCPD when in episode 4 when Oliver’s plan to clear himself gets going. It’s all so very stupid.
> 
> 2: Slade gets some flak for leaving Team Arrow, but when you look at Slade’s point of view, his actions do make sense. Slade has always looked out for no one but those he cares about. And he didn’t give a damn about anyone on the island except Oliver and he didn’t owe them anything. Plus, Slade has always treated others the way he sees himself as being treated, so he would be smart enough to realize that they would leave him behind in a heartbeat with no hesitation. At least Slade had second thoughts and came back for them. Which is probably more than they would have done for him. 
> 
> 3: I’ve covered this in other stories, so I’ll only summarize here. Basically, the cliffhanger in this episode is so stupid. It was just a publicity stunt to keep viewers interested and never had any chance of having lasting consequences. Never mind that Lain Yu wasn’t completely leveled, somehow, it doesn’t kill anyone but Samantha and seemingly Evelyn (that we know of). Yeah, so stupid.


	12. Filling in the blanks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the time travelers head back to the past, Arsenal, Rene, and Mia give them information that will be vital to their mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after this, there will be one more chapter.

After a night of restless sleep, the time travelers tiredly emerged from the sleeping arrangements Arsenal had given them. All of them had laid awake that night, unable to sleep, completely overwhelmed by what they had learned. 

Needless to say, none of them were feeling very cheery as they entered what Mia had told them was the dining room. They found an assortment of breakfast on the large table that looked like a smaller version of the table at the Queen Mansion. Mia was putting down some plates when she saw them.

“Hey. Arsenal and Rene will be here in just a minute,” she said as she put the plates down. “Sit, eat up. Best food Star City has to offer.”

Given the rather simple food, it really drove home the state of the city. The six of them sat around the table, the time travelers staring at the food but not making a move to eat any as Arsenal and Rene entered the room.

“You should eat up,” Arsenal said as they sat down. “You’re gonna need a full stomach.”

“I don’t think I’ll be in the mood to eat ever again,” Quentin said with the other time travelers looking like they agreed.

“You have to, if you want to change things. Otherwise, we brought you all here for nothing,” Rene said pointedly.

At the reminder that this future wasn’t set in stone, the time travelers seemed to get some of their appetite back, putting some food onto their plates.

“So, you said you had some more things we needed to know before we left?” Moira asked and Arsenal nodded.

“First, there’s a group called the Ninth Circle. They are a terrorist group whose goal it is to destroy Starling City. Their leader is Emiko Adachi...also known as Emiko Queen,” Arsenal said and everyone froze as they stared, Moira for a different reason than the others.

“I’m sorry, Queen?” Thea asked faintly.

“You want to take it from here Moira?” Arsenal asked as they all looked at Moira.

“Mom?” Thea asked and Moira sighed.

“Thea, you know that your father…was not a very faithful husband. One of his…dalliances resulted in a child,” Moira said.

“Emiko,” Roy realized and Moira nodded.

“Robert, he wanted to be there for her, but her mother wouldn’t allow it. She was…bitter that Robert would not leave me for her. So she threatened to ruin his reputation if he tried to get involved with Emiko’s life. If that would have happened, Queen Consolidated would have millions. Not only would that have affected our family, but everyone who worked for the company,” Moira tried to explain.

“He made the only choice he could’ve made, for himself, his family, and everyone who worked for him,” Laurel noted and Moira nodded.

“Well, her mother’s hatred of Robert and Queens in general was something she passed down. Emiko was poisoned her entire life against Robert, her mother told her repeatedly that Robert abandoned her and that he didn’t really love her. She was indoctrinated into the Ninth circle when she was eleven,” Rene said, looking pained as he said this. “She hates all of you, especially Oliver.”

“Great, more Queen family secrets,” Quentin groaned and seven pairs of eyes glared at him. “Sorry.” 

“Isabel Rochev,” Mia said and Moira started. “She’s working with Slade.” 

“The business tycoon? Why would Slade want to work with her?” Thea asked confused and saw her mother’s face. “Mom?”

“She was an intern at Queen Consolidated when she was still in business school,” Moira admitted.” The pretty intern who caught the CEO’s eye.”

“Oh my god. Could dad not keep it in his pants?” Thea asked disgusted.

“Where do you think your brother learned it?” Quentin muttered and Laurel hit him on the shoulder.” I’ll just be quiet.”

“Good idea Grandpa,” Mia said dryly.

“She was by far, his most serious affair,” Moira continued as though she had never been interrupted. “He was going to leave me for her. Then, Thea honey, you fell off your horse.”

“I remember. Dad stayed by my bed the whole time I was in the hospital,” Thea remembered.

“It was a much needed wake up call for your father. You made him realize what was important in his life. He ended the affair, as well as Isabel’s internship,” Moira explained.

“And she wants revenge,” Laurel realized and Arsenal nodded.

“In three months’ time, she’ll be on the verge of buying up Queen Consolidated. Oliver stops her, but only by half. She gains his trust, and, while Oliver is distracted when Thea is kidnapped by Slade, he signs over the company to her and she takes over as sole CEO,” Arsenal explained, to Moira’s horror.

“How could he trust her!?” Moira demanded angrily.

“Because you didn’t tell him everything,” Mia snapped and Moira had the decency to look sheepish. “He can’t make an informed decision without all the Intel. You need to tell him Grandma, everything. You may think you’re protecting him by not laying out all Grandpa Robert’s mistakes, but he already knows Grandpa wasn’t perfect, more than you know. Dad needs to know what he is dealing with.”

“Okay,” Moira said after a moment, knowing Mia wasn’t just talking about Isabel, but about William and Emiko as well. “I’ll tell him when I see him next.”

“Good,” Mia said, satisfied as she sat back in her chair.

“That brings us to the next order of business,” Arsenal said. “Slade. I know you might be feeling a little conflicted about him after seeing the recordings.”

“I know what that man does to me. I know he kills me. But…having Oliver kill him, it doesn’t feel right, knowing that it wasn’t truly his fault,” Moira admitted.

“You need to let Oliver kill him,” Rene said, to the shock of the time travelers. 

“We got in touch with Slade before we brought you all here, we wanted his input on what should be done about his past self,” Arsenal said. “He said that if there was even a chance that he would still try and kill Moira; kill any of you…that his past self should be put down. Slade threatens the lives of everyone in Starling City. One man can’t outweigh all those lives.”

Everyone was silent as they absorbed the gravity on what Slade was asking them to do. To ensure they had a future, he was willing to sacrifice his own. Whatever grudge any of them were holding against Slade after the seeing the recordings vanished at the implications of his sacrifice.

“One more thing,” Arsenal pulled out a piece of paper, wrote something on it, and slid it over to Thea. “That is Talia’s current location in your time. When you find Oliver, convince him to go there. However you do that, well, that’s up to you, Thea, Laurel.”

“Why them?” Quentin asked, a little protectively.

“Because, as we established, Laurel is Oliver’s moral center. And he loves Thea more than anyone. If anyone can convince him to do this, it’s you two,” Arsenal said and Quentin couldn’t fault Arsenal’s logic.

“Okay, but that still raises the question of where he is,” Roy pointed out since no one had seen or heard from Oliver since he left Starling City after The Undertaking. 

“He’s on Lian Yu,” Mia said bluntly and the time travelers all stared at her in shock.

“Why on earth would he go back to that island?” Moira asked aghast.

“Because to Oliver, that island is home. It reminds him of who he is, who he’s become. After his inability to stop The Undertaking, he thought it was the best place for him,” Arsenal explained and this was a hard pill for those who loved Oliver to swallow.

“Now, eat up. Because Grandma, we need you to get back in your prison uniform before we sent you back. It’s gonna look suspicious if you suddenly have fashionable clothes in prison,” Mia quipped.

Despite themselves, the time travelers chuckled, beginning to get used to Mia’s sense of humor. They began to dig in, putting their departure out of their minds, simply enjoying each other’s company. Because they knew it would be a long time until they would all be together like this again, if ever. Best to enjoy it while they can.


	13. Return to the present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time travelers return to the past and immediately begin making changes to prevent the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are the final chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited and followed this story. The chapter is not particularly long, but it will set up first chapter of the sequel. Not sure when I’ll get to that, but for now, I hope you’ll enjoy this.

Star City, 2040  
Late morning

After breakfast, the eight of them met back in the room they had first arrived in after Moira had changed back into her Iron Heights Prison uniform. Currently, they were saying goodbye.

“Thank you, for everything,” Quentin told Arsenal, Mia, and Rene gratefully.

“Thank us by making sure this future never happens,” Mia said bluntly.

“What will happen to this future once we go back?” Thea asked wearily.

“We’re not sure. We could blink out of existence or nothing could change at all for us. Either way, it was worth it,” Arsenal said with no regrets.

“I hope I get to watch you grow up this time,” Laurel said as she looked over at Mia.

“I hope so to,” Mia said honestly, a bit of softness entering her eyes.

“I hope one day, we’re all in a room together with Oliver and Sara,” Arsenal said as he looked around at all of them. “But it’s up to you to make sure that happens. Don’t let us down.”

“We’ll try our best,” Roy said and his future counterpart smiled tightly.

“I’ll hold you to that,” Arsenal said before looking over at Mia. “Show time.”

Mia nodded before turning to the time travelers. Each of them a member of her family, each of them having helped form her parents in some way or another.

“Please…save my mom and dad,” Mia said softly before she pushed a button on her watch.

There was a flash of light and, when it faded, the five of them were gone.

Starling City, 2013  
Morning

Quentin appeared on the streets, looking around startled. He was glad he was sober, otherwise he’d have wondered if he’d hallucinated the last few days.

At her apartment, Laurel appeared on her couch as the picture she’d been holding before she disappeared crashed to the floor, the glass shattering. 

Roy and Thea appeared back on his couch in Roy’s house, both of them looking freaked out.

“That happened right?” Roy asked and Thea pulled out the paper Arsenal had given her with Talia’s location written on it.

“That happened,” Thea confirmed. 

Iron Heights Prison  
Same time

Moira had appeared in her cell on her cot seconds earlier, thinking over what she had been through, what she’d seen in the future when someone banged something on her cell door.

“Morning Queen. Beautiful day,” one of the guards said smugly.

Moira, with the grace of someone who’d had a lot of practice dealing with these kinds of people, did not respond. She simply got to her feet, ready to begin her day. 

North China Sea, several days later  
Afternoon

On a plane, Thea sat in the copilot’s chair while Laurel stood behind her as the pilot drove her off.

“Thank you for doing this,” Laurel said gratefully and the pilot laughed.

“Think nothing of it Ms. Lance. I owe your father for helping me out of a jam a few years back,” he said as they neared the island of Lian Yu. “Although why you would want to come here is beyond me.”

“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Laurel said honestly.

“Whatever you say. I get paid either way, right?” the pilot asked as he looked over at Thea, who rolled her eyes.

“You’ll get paid,” Thea promised.

The pilot landed the plane on the shore and Thea and Laurel got out, stopping and staring at the mask on the podium pole with an arrow sticking through one eye. The similarities the mask bore to Slade’s mask in the recordings and the fact that the arrow was through the eye Slade had an eye patch on wasn’t lost on either of them. 

“Yeah, that’s not creepy at all,” Thea muttered and Laurel shot her a look.

“We’ll be back in an hour or two,” Laurel tossed over her shoulder at the pilot before the two women made their way into the forest. 

They had been walking for less than two minutes, searching for Oliver when they heard a click. Thea froze, looking down at her feet.

“Please tell me I imagined that,” Thea begged as Laurel looked down.

“You didn’t. You’re standing on a landmine,” Laurel swore, cursing herself for not making herself or Thea be more careful.

“What do we do?” Thea asked panicked.

“Back away!”

Laurel nearly jumped, looking up. Oliver stood on a tree, a bow and arrow in his hands.

“Laurel, back up. Now,” Oliver ordered and Laurel, remembering the blast that had taken out Malcolm, Harkness, and Talia’s students, backed up several feet. “Speedy, don’t move.” 

Oliver shot off an arrow with a line into a tree and used it as a rope, swinging down and grabbed Thea. Oliver let go of the rope, tackling Thea off the mine as it went off. The explosion sent Laurel flying on her back as Oliver and Thea landed several feet away.

“You alright, you hurt?” Oliver asked frantically as they sat up, checking Thea over for any injuries.

“I’m fine, thanks to you,” Thea assured him and Oliver sighed in relief. 

“What the hell are you two doing here?” Oliver snapped angrily as he looked from Thea to Laurel.

“We came to find you,” Laurel said as she got to her feet. “We came to bring you home Ollie.”


End file.
